airplay

noun

air·​play ˈer-ˌplā How to pronounce airplay (audio)
: the playing of a musical recording on the air by a radio station
a song getting a lot of airplay

Examples of airplay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The album solidified Soundgarden’s early reputation as a heavy band, garnering airplay on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball and their first Grammy nomination (for, somewhat comically, Best Metal Performance). Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Mar. 2024 In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 876,000 official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads Feb. 23-29. Kevin Rutherford, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024 Artists of color received a 2.3% share of country radio airplay in the last 19 years. Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Speaking out—and therefore, putting airplay on country radio at risk—is an act of rebellion. Lindy Segal, Glamour, 21 Feb. 2024 Billboard and Mediabase's country airplay charts measure spins in major versus minor markets and rank records by audience impressions. Marcus K. Dowling, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 The album Box of Cherries ended up releasing (not on Warner Bros.) ended up getting a fair amount of college airplay. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 15 Feb. 2024 And then of course, there’s the other charts that also take into account streams and sales along with radio airplay, including the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2024 The latest track also collected points in radio airplay, coming in at No. 12 for the metric. Billboard Japan, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airplay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airplay was in 1942

Dictionary Entries Near airplay

Cite this Entry

“Airplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airplay. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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