audition
Americannoun
-
auditions
plural
-
a trial hearing given to a singer, actor, or other performer to test suitability for employment, professional training or competition, etc.
-
a reading or other simplified rendering of a theatrical work, performed before a potential backer, producer, etc.
-
the act, sense, or power of hearing.
-
something that is heard.
verb (used with or without object)
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auditions,
present (3rd person singular)
-
auditioned,
past participle, past
-
auditioning
present participle
noun
-
a test at which a performer or musician is asked to demonstrate his ability for a particular role, etc
-
the act, sense, or power of hearing
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
auditionsimple
-
auditionssimple
-
have auditionedperfect
-
has auditionedperfect
-
am auditioningprogressive
-
are auditioningprogressive
-
is auditioningprogressive
-
have been auditioningperfect progressive
-
has been auditioningperfect progressive
Past
-
auditionedsimple
-
had auditionedperfect
-
was auditioningprogressive
-
were auditioningprogressive
-
had been auditioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of audition
1590–1600; (< Middle French ) < Latin audītiōn- (stem of audītiō hearing). See auditive, -ion
Explanation
An audition is a tryout for a role in a movie, orchestra, or play. If you bomb the audition, you probably won't make it into the cast. When describing a tryout in which an actor, singer, musician, or dancer tries to prove that he or she is talented enough to earn a part in a show, audition is used as a noun. The word can also be used as a verb, as in, "I auditioned for the part of Peter Pan, but every time I tried to fly I fell flat on my face." Audition shares a common heritage with audience, the group of people who will eventually watch the show for which a performer has auditioned. Both words come from the Middle French term meaning "power of hearing."
Vocabulary lists containing audition
Common Senses: Aud ("Hear")
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aud
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Theater - Introductory
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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:
In May, Panettiere spoke to the BBC's US partner CBS News about her mother taking her as an "eight-month-old baby into audition rooms".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
So it’s entirely understandable if most of us aren’t into the labor aspect of the Lanterns’ audition process.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
But the 13-year department veteran was still serving as a reserve officer and had several lucrative side businesses, including renting luxury cars and launching an app that allowed actors to audition remotely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Local television producers caught wind and arranged a live audition at the Pine Tavern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
I never got to audition for Kids Bake Challenge!
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
Panettiere’s career began when her mother, Lesley Vogel, an actress herself, started driving her to modeling auditions when she was just a baby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Internships in a wider range of fields increasingly function like auditions where students temporarily perform the duties of new hires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Anybody aged 12 and over can apply for the series, although those aged under 18 attending open auditions must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
HBO reviewed more than 32,000 auditions before selecting Dominic McLaughlin to play the boy who lived.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Experts in the classical music world tackled the problem by addressing the way in which the instinctive judgments in auditions were made.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
She managed to see off 300,000 other teenagers who auditioned during a global casting search, to secure just one of the four coveted roles.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
After three final women auditioned, Burley explained how the casting director told the group to "make your mind up".
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Winter was 12 years old when she auditioned for the role 15 years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
The assistant to the casting director who auditioned me must have forgotten to ask.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Shawn and I auditioned for a melodrama at Worm Creek.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Hansard played the role of guitarist Outspan Foster, despite not originally auditioning for the part.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
As luck would have it, I won a senior-year acting competition, landed an agent and began auditioning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
He conducted his briefing as if he was auditioning for the job he already holds.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
Really, the heart of the show is the idea of auditioning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Molly had come up with it not long after she started auditioning.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
