wordplay

noun

word·​play ˈwərd-ˌplā How to pronounce wordplay (audio)
: playful use of words : verbal wit

Examples of wordplay in a Sentence

Oscar Wilde was famous for his witty wordplay.
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.
No amount of refined wordplay or frilly couture can disguise how neatly the women’s war of wills fits into a larger filmography obsessed with the ways everyone madly scrambles for influence and control. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025 Bennett is a writer of great linguistic inventiveness; her previous books, the short-story collection Pond and the novel Checkout 19, use surprising wordplay to evoke their narrators’ unique ways of interacting with the world. Rhian Sasseen, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 2025 Formed in Yuba City in 2016, Herencia de Patrones is widely credited with helping pioneer a style that fuses traditional regional Mexican corridos and norteño with hip-hop wordplay. Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2025 If your family enjoys wordplay games, choose Scrabble or Crazy Letters. Bestreviews, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wordplay

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wordplay was in 1794

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Cite this Entry

“Wordplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wordplay. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

wordplay

noun
word·​play ˈwərd-ˌplā How to pronounce wordplay (audio)
: wit that is based on the clever use of words

More from Merriam-Webster on wordplay

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