playbook
Americannoun
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(in Elizabethan drama) the script of a play, used by the actors as an acting text.
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Football. a notebook containing descriptions of all the plays and strategies used by a team, often accompanied by diagrams, issued to players for them to study and memorize before the season begins.
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Informal. any plan or set of strategies, as for outlining a campaign in business or politics.
noun
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a book containing a range of possible set plays
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a notional range of possible tactics in any sphere of activity
Etymology
Origin of playbook
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Technology stocks tumbled on Tuesday, extending a swoon that began in early June, as investors anxiously await the historic SpaceX IPO later this week and retreat from hot parts of the artificial-intelligence playbook.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
The purchases came just a week after Strategy sold Bitcoin for the first time since 2022—a move that deviated from its longstanding buy-and-hold playbook.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
The first three times Julie was targeted on the same dating app, she said each scammer followed a similar playbook.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
Here’s your new playbook to protect your retirement cash.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Through the twenty-minute drive to meet the team: Or maybe it’s some kind of playbook that could change the face of all batball.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.