Showing results for by-play. Search instead for by-sea.

by-play

American

[bahy-pley] / ˈbaɪˌpleɪ /

Or byplay

noun

an action or speech carried on to the side while the main action proceeds, especially on the stage.

by-play British

noun

secondary action or talking carried on apart while the main action proceeds, esp in a play

"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 by-play

First recorded in 1805–15

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:

by-play

There's much to enjoy here besides the brain-mangling howdunit element: the thrill of the chase; but also the snappy by-play between Gurney and his long-suffering wife, Madeleine.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 20, 2010

His tall sleek figure, his shiny black hair, his resounding rhetoric, his theatrical by-play with black-corded glasses have caused many an ignorant observer to mistake him for a onetime Shakespearean actor.

From Time Magazine Archive

Woven through this inconsequential thesis is a variety of vigorous by-play and device.

From Time Magazine Archive

All this feverish by-play ends in a curious reconciliation scene.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Dutch pictures were full of that detail and by-play of which Hogarth was such a master in later years.

From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by James Parton

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