gank vs dive
The tower. A gank catches an enemy away from their tower; a dive goes after them under it. The second is a gank that accepts tower damage.
gank
A gank is the surprise attack on a lane, usually by the jungler, to create a two versus one. It works because the enemy is pushed up, far from their tower, and does not see the reinforcement coming. "gank mid", "lane is pushed gank now".
open the page →dive
A dive is an attack under the enemy tower. The tower shoots, it hurts, and the team accepts that damage because the target is too low or too valuable to leave alive. It is a calculation: how many tower shots for one kill. "help bot getting dived" is the call from the player on the receiving end.
open the page →Why they get mixed up
A failed gank often turns into a dive: the target backs under their tower and the team hesitates. That is where the two blur, and where games get lost. The simple rule: you gank a player who is pushed up, you dive a player who can no longer escape. Diving someone who still has flash is handing the tower a double kill.