playbill

1 of 2

noun

play·​bill ˈplā-ˌbil How to pronounce playbill (audio)
: a bill (see bill entry 4 sense 5a) advertising a public performance or set of performances
A playbill—an early poster—advertising Shakespeare's Hamlet at Newcastle's original Theatre Royal in Mosley Street in December 1791 was discovered among prints bought in an auction sale …Evening Chronicle
So the two began plastering up playbills and cultivating a badboy image.Logan Hill

Playbill

2 of 2

trademark

used for a theater program (see program entry 1 sense 2a)

Examples of playbill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
With playbills in one hand and Parm sandwiches in the other, guests milled about the space, dancing to Charli XCX and Chappell Roan. Lea Donenberg, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2024 Jolie-Pitt allegedly had her surname shortened to Jolie for the Broadway production's playbill, per the outlets, amid Jolie and ex-husband Brad Pitt’s yearslong legal battle. Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 17 June 2024 Later that year, Hunt documented another special moment with her daughter in August 2017, with the two taking a selfie for Instagram, posing behind their Hamilton playbills in the theater to see Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical. Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024 But Gevinson dressed up her quotidian base with lively accessories, wearing bubblegum-pink lug-sole shoes and a thematically appropriate beaded playbill purse from Susan Alexandra. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2023 See all Example Sentences for playbill 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1610, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of playbill was in 1610

Dictionary Entries Near playbill

Cite this Entry

“Playbill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playbill. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

playbill

noun
play·​bill ˈplā-ˌbil How to pronounce playbill (audio)
: a poster advertising a play

More from Merriam-Webster on playbill

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