variants or tick-tack-toe
: a game in which two players alternately put Xs and Os in compartments of a figure formed by two vertical lines crossing two horizontal lines and each tries to get a row of three Xs or three Os before the opponent does

Examples of tic-tac-toe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Since this comes in a pack of two, my kids will often use them to play tic-tac-toe, write secret messages to each other, or make up their own version of Pictionary to pass the time. Laura Lu, Parents, 30 June 2025 The score wasn’t out of hand until Ekblad’s power-play goal ended a textbook, tic-tac-toe passing from Aleksander Barkov to Tkachuk to Reinhart, who made a blind pass to Ekblad. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 10 June 2025 Seth Jones scored into a wide-open net after some spectacular tic-tac-toe passing, and fellow defenseman Dmitry Kulikov tied it with a shot through traffic that Stuart Skinner almost certainly did not see. Stephen Whyno, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2025 Some tic-tac-toe passing from Tkachuk to Bennett to Mackie Samoskevich had the Panthers forward at the side of an open net. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2025 Even the entertainment feels enhanced, with artful game sets like polished tic-tac-toe, a luxury edition of Clue, and a sleek Connect Four that double as decor. Ashlee Marie Preston, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025 Events will tentatively include games of dodgeball, tic-tac-toe, a relay race, punt/catch, move the mountain and quarterback accuracy. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025 The Gophers cashed in when Moore completed a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play along with Ziemer and Snuggerud. Patrick Donnelly, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2025 For those unfamiliar, the format is simple but addictively fun: contestants play a giant game of tic-tac-toe, earning squares by deciding whether celebrity guests' answers to trivia questions are true or false. Maggie Ekberg, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

tic-tac-toe, former game in which players with eyes shut brought a pencil down on a slate marked with numbers and scored the number hit

First Known Use

circa 1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tic-tac-toe was circa 1866

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tic-tac-toe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tic-tac-toe. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

tic-tac-toe

noun
variants or tick-tack-toe
ˌtik-ˌtak-ˈtō
: a game in which two players by turns put crosses and zeros in compartments of a figure formed by two vertical lines crossing two horizontal lines and each tries to get a row of three crosses or three zeros before the opponent does
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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