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• ad lib
  ad lib

  noun

  something improvised in speech, music, etc..
• ad lib.
  ad lib.

  abbreviation

  ad libitum.
• ad-lib
  ad-lib

  verb (used with object)

  to improvise all or part of (a speech, a piece of music, etc.).

ad lib

¹ American  

[ad lib, ad] / æd ˈlɪb, ˈæd /

noun

1. something improvised in speech, music, etc..

   Was that joke part of your speech or an ad lib?

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adverb

1. at one's pleasure; without restriction.

2. freely; as needed; without stint.

   Water can be given to the patients ad lib.

ad lib. ² American  

abbreviation

1. ad libitum.

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ad-lib ³ American  

[ad-lib, ad-] / ædˈlɪb, ˈæd- /

verb (used with object)

ad-libbed, ad-libbing

1. to improvise all or part of (a speech, a piece of music, etc.).

   to ad-lib one's lines.

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verb (used without object)

ad-libbed, ad-libbing

1. to act, speak, etc., without preparation.

   Throughout the play he had to ad-lib constantly.

adjective

1. impromptu; extemporaneous.

   ad-lib remarks to hecklers.

ad-lib British  

/ ædˈlɪb /

verb

1. to improvise and deliver without preparation (a speech, musical performance, etc)

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adjective

1. improvised; impromptu

adverb

1. without restraint; freely

2. music short for ad libitum

noun

1. an improvised performance, often humorous

Other Word Forms

• ad-libber
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ad lib¹

First recorded in 1810–20; see origin at ad libitum

Origin of ad-lib³

1915–20, v. use of ad lib

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ad lib ad lib. ad-lib ad-libbed ad-libbing

"I've realised that usually I like to ad lib but you can't ad lib a script because your fellow actor doesn't know when you're going to stop talking."

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2023

I was watching somebody inhabit a character at the highest level; every ad lib, every way, she did it a little differently.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2023

Williams says working on the show was fun because of the cast chemistry, and the license to ad lib at times to make scenes funnier felt “very fulfilling.”

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2023

Sure enough, after three months, the mice who ate ad lib were stricken with obesity, diabetes, liver disease, and a host of other ugly conditions.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2022

So the next day I go to Room 402 at lunch and do my best to volley back right answers to Rosa’s ad lib math problems.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

"It's very ad lib. So you're never really able to simulate what's going to happen."

From US News ● Nov. 5, 2015

Senior Account Manager - Digital Marketing Agency ad lib. windsor, berkshire. £27k - £35k.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 31, 2010

Senior Digital Project Manager ad lib. this is an incredible opportunity for a talented d…. £35k - £40k.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 28, 2010

UK USA UK Browse more society jobs Digital Designers & Flash Designers ad lib. fancy the idea of joining a handpicked team of dig….

From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2010

Cards, race-meetings, and billiards may be introduced ad lib., also passion, prejudice, a faithful dog, and an infant prattler.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, March 7, 1891 by Various

The notion that he’d ad-lib a mention of Harp, or include one in his prepared remarks without thinking through the possible ramifications, strains believability.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

Williams was elusive and made some great ad-lib plays down the stretch, and they dominated possession, but allowing big plays cost them dearly.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025

I would want to do everything real, and Jonathan would always encourage me to ad-lib and improvise.

From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2025

The speech isn’t something he can ad-lib or pull from memory, hence the notes, and he’d never use a PowerPoint presentation.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2024

Kids wouldn’t move to the right places during rehearsals, or would ad-lib wisecracks, which Mrs. Finley didn’t think at all funny.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Carl Reiner similarly declared: “I saw what I thought was the funniest ad-libbed thing I had ever seen. It was a riot, and we never stopped laughing.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Rogen and Franco ad-libbed, drew out the best in their fellow actors and made the rest of the room feel as if they were part of their joyous adventure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

“I was too young to be in the Senate,” he then ad-libbed in a joke, “and too old to be the president.”

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024

"Stevie Wonder is on there as well, which is sort of thing only happens when you record in LA," he laughs, noting that the song was "very ad-libbed... it even finishes and starts up again".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2023

“See, because his last name is Gruyère, which is a kind of cheese,” Owen ad-libbed.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

His ad-libbing in the post-kinetic stage isn’t his finest hour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Twelve grown adults, sitting around a table on a Saturday afternoon being silly and ad-libbing as their own cartoonish inventions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024

He then went further, ad-libbing to suggest that no other world leader would want to change places with Mr. Xi, given the scope of his recent problems.

From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2023

He points out actors’ performances and ad-libbing, costuming, make-up and visual effects design heightening the humor; and he regrets cutting lots of stuff in scenes due to lack of final run time.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 29, 2023

Next thing I know, TJ and I are ad-libbing back and forth in harmony over the chorus.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles