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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.

He returned to RCA with “Emergence,” a mellow record designed to follow King’s “Tapestry” onto the radio, but that airplay never materialized: Sedaka was still seen as a relic of the early ’60s.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 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

Last Christmas is nominated for the prize for most performed work, which is based on airplay.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2025

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 Doctorow, Cory

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