ad-lib
[ ad-lib, ad- ]
/ ædˈlɪb, ˈæd- /
verb (used with object), ad-libbed, ad-lib·bing.
to improvise all or part of (a speech, a piece of music, etc.): to ad-lib one's lines.
verb (used without object), ad-libbed, ad-lib·bing.
to act, speak, etc., without preparation: Throughout the play he had to ad-lib constantly.
adjective
impromptu; extemporaneous: ad-lib remarks to hecklers.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
improvise, extemporize, impromptu, improvised, invent, extemporaneous, extempore, made-up, spontaneous, unprepared, unrehearsed, off-the-cuff, extemporaneously, spontaneously
Nearby words
Origin of ad-lib
ad lib
[ ad lib, ad ]
/ æd ˈlɪb, ˈæd /
noun
something improvised in speech, music, etc.: Was that joke part of your speech or an ad lib?
adverb
at one's pleasure; without restriction.
freely; as needed; without stint: Water can be given to the patients ad lib.
Origin of ad lib
First recorded in 1810–20; see origin at ad libitum
ad lib.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ad-lib
They told me to forget the script because I was going to have to ad-lib everything.
Charlie Brotman, Announcer of Presidential Inaugurals Since Truman’s|Sandra McElwaine|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Word Origin for ad-lib
C18: short for Latin ad libitum, literally: according to pleasure
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
ad lib
1811, shortened from Latin ad libitum "at one's pleasure, as much as one likes" (c.1600), from libere "to please" (see libido). First recorded as one word 1919 (v.), 1925 (n.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ad lib.
abbr.
ad libitum (freely, as desired)
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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