airplay

American

[air-pley] / ˈɛərˌpleɪ /

noun

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

airplay British

/ ˈɛəˌpleɪ /

noun

(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.

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

Chris Rea's most famous hit was Driving Home For Christmas - written in 1978, released as a single in 1988 and still receiving substantial radio airplay every December since then.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

The album accrued seven Grammy nominations and shot the band into rock stardom with long-lasting singles and heavy MTV airplay.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

Two years later, R&B impresario Clive Davis handed him a label to run, and soon Bad Boy Records dominated radio airplay.

From Salon • Jan. 27, 2025

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 Doctorow, Cory

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