gameplay

noun

game·​play ˈgām-ˌplā 

variants or game play

plural gameplays or game plays

1

: the characteristic way in which the action of a game (such as a video game) occurs or is experienced

Each game is cleanly done with smooth gameplay and colorful graphics.

—Joe Hindy

Featuring intuitive and addictive gameplay, the game is a lovely distraction from the troubles of the day.

—Amy Davidson

The unique game play led to players adopting all sorts of interesting strategies for getting a high score.

—Jeff Fulton and Steve Fulton

2

: the practice or activity of playing games (such as board games, card games, or video games) : gaming sense 2

Unlike the vast majority of previous studies on the effect of video games on wellbeing, the Oxford team were able to track actual gameplay, rather than relying on self-reported estimates.

—Alex Hern

While not all card shufflers operate more quickly than manual shuffling, in general, a card shuffler speeds up gameplay.

—Allen Foster

… a gaming chair that also massages your back, features an adjustable headrest and has an ergonomic design that allows for hours and hours of game play.

—Heather Quinlan

Examples of gameplay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Paying for playtime directly like this evokes images of old arcades, where players would invest a quarter or two (in 20th century dollars) often for just a few minutes of gameplay. — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026

The Mass Effect trilogy, which began in 2007, married the wordy dialogue trees of role-playing games with run-and-gun gameplay, a formula that many other studios have attempted to copy, but few ever match its scale. — Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2026

Disney is able to transform live gameplay into animation by combining player tracking data from the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026

After getting introduced to Valorant, Kyedae decided to try her hand at streaming gameplay. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for gameplay

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway