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Showing results for airplay. Search instead for Fair+Play.

airplay

American  
[air-play] / ˈɛərˌpleɪ /

noun

  1. the act or an instance of broadcasting recorded material over radio or television.


airplay British  
/ ˈɛəˌpleɪ /

noun

  1. (of recorded music) radio exposure

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of airplay

First recorded in 1965–70; air 1 + play


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.

See Examples For:

The Billboard Hot 100 combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data to determine the most popular songs in the U.S. each week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Radio airplay, strong word of mouth, glossy production and a slick cover that looked like an upscale fragrance ad helped the record sell a million copies by September 1976.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

Tracks qualify if they meet its criteria for sales, streams and airplay, even if they have been generated by algorithms.

From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026

While speaking to Fox, Willis noted that the track had seen a significant spike in airplay in recent weeks.

From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2024

It's good enough for divvying up the royalties paid by musical rights societies for radio airplay and live performance.

From Ebooks: Neither E, Nor Books by Cory Doctorow

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