playbook

noun

play·​book ˈplā-ˌbu̇k 

1

: one or more plays in book form

2

: a notebook containing diagrammed football plays

3

: a stock of usual tactics or methods

straight from his opponent's political playbook

Examples of playbook in a Sentence

He studied the new plays in the team's playbook.

Recent Examples on the Web

Taste As the New Algorithm For most of the social media era until this point, playbooks taught creators to hack distribution algorithms by chasing trends and prioritizing post quantity over quality. —Stephanie Hind, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026

Now capitalism is running the same playbook. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 June 2026

The leadership playbook that got most of us here is being rewritten in real time. —Maria Ross, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

Malik Washington must evolve as a receiver Washington, who has been praised in the past for his ability to learn and execute the offense, seems to be grasping Miami’s playbook faster than the rest of his fellow receivers. —Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 31 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1511, in the meaning defined at sense 1