walk-on

noun

1
: a minor part (as in a dramatic production)
also : an actor having such a part
2
: a college athlete who tries out for an athletic team without having been recruited or offered a scholarship

Examples of walk-on 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.
In it, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning goes undercover in heavy prosthetics and a wig and dons the alias Chad Powers to try out as a walk-on quarterback for Penn State football. Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2025 McCullough was a walk-on at Ohio State from 2018-20. Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025 Brown and former walk-on Mikey Welsh both had 44-yard receptions in the game. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025 If Pribula goes down, Drinkwitz and the Tigers become dangerously thin at quarterback between true freshman Matt Zollers and walk-on Tommy Lock. Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for walk-on

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of walk-on was in 1902

Cite this Entry

“Walk-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/walk-on. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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