SINCE 1828

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foreplay

noun fore·play \ ˈfȯr-ˌplā \

Updated on: 3 Apr 2018

Definition of foreplay

1 : erotic stimulation preceding sexual intercourse

2 : action or behavior that precedes an event

See foreplay defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of foreplay from the Web

And most pressing: Seriously, what kind of person uses Shark Week for foreplay?

— michael andor brodeur, BostonGlobe.com, "Stormy Daniels’s pupils and a Beyoncé biter? It’s a thing.," 27 Mar. 2018
TextColorWhiteTransparencyOpaqueBackgroundColorBlackTransparencyOpaqueWindowColorBlackTransparencyTransparent Font Size50% Text Edge StyleNone Font FamilyProportional Sans-Serif Facebook is foreplay.

— james sexton, Time, "Divorce Lawyer: Facebook Is a Cheating Machine," 26 Mar. 2018
For many, the pain comes and goes and reasons for this transient pain include inadequate foreplay, breast-feeding (which lowers estrogen), infection and other causes.

— jen gunter, New York Times, "Sex Hurts. Help!," 31 Jan. 2018
Dedicate more time to the warm up before the main event, and if foreplay isn't the issue, use lube.

— jessica migala, Health.com, "Can Your Vagina Be Too Tight for You to Enjoy Sex? A Gynecologist Explains," 22 Feb. 2018
As a result, Johnson spent a ton of time navigating her way through some of the series' most intensely intimate moments (three words: ice cream foreplay).

— alex warner, Marie Claire, "Dakota Johnson's Modesty Thong Had to Be Superglued to Her Body During 'Fifty Shades Freed'," 12 Feb. 2018
Think of these clips as foreplay for the Feb. 9 release of Fifty Shades Freed.

— maria yagoda, PEOPLE.com, "7 Incredible Fifty Shades of Grey Parodies That You Have to Watch," 7 Feb. 2018
So that got me to thinking about all the things lots of men don’t know, but could probably stand to learn, about foreplay.

— monique judge, The Root, "5 Things Men Need to Understand About Foreplay," 12 Dec. 2017
To be clear, nothing in this movie makes any kind of emotional sense; there is zero narrative foreplay.

— laura bennett, Slate Magazine, "Fifty Shades Darker," 10 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foreplay.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of foreplay

1929

FOREPLAY Defined for English Language Learners

foreplay

noun

Definition of foreplay for English Language Learners

: sexual actions (such as kissing and touching) that people do with each other before they have sex

Medical Dictionary

foreplay

noun fore·play \ -ˌplā \

medical Definition of foreplay

: erotic stimulation preceding sexual intercourse

Learn More about foreplay

See words that rhyme with foreplay Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about foreplay

Seen and Heard

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