A game

American

Or A-game,

noun

Informal.

a person’s best effort, abilities, or achievement.

The candidate brought her A game to the debate.

'A' game British

noun

informal one's best possible performance, esp in the phrase to bring or take one's 'A' game

"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 A game

In reference to a sports contest, with the letter A indicating peak performance

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:

A game 'A' game

A game like that, which bounced from back to front continuously for 90 minutes will certainly not be missed by our top teams in the Premier League, who strive to bring games under their control.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt brought their A game, embracing method dressing without going overboard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

The game was only confirmed as going ahead late on Monday night after the Islamabad government made a U-turn on its order to boycott the blockbuster Group A game.

From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026

Opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a robust half-century to help Pakistan post 190-9 in their T20 World Cup Group A game against United States in Colombo on Tuesday.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

A game of darts which was going on at the other end of the room interrupted itself for perhaps as much as thirty seconds.

From "1984" by George Orwell

An ‘A’ game from the Lakers in Denver?

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026

“And it’s always the big moments that are the most important. You’re not always going to be on your ‘A’ game, but it just gets something going in me.”

From Washington Times ● Nov. 7, 2023

“I need to be on my ‘A’ game because there’s more on the line now than a boxing fight,” Fury has said.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

"I know I'm going to have to play my 'A' game, my best level I've ever played if I want to have a chance against him."

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2023

“We knew we had to bring our ‘A’ game for those guys, whatever that looked like,” Mt.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023