LARP

American  

[lahrp] / lɑrp /

Or larp

noun

1. live action role-playing: a fantasy role-playing game in which participants dress in costume, use props, and act out roles.

2. Informal. stylized or theatrical enactment of a role, identity, conflict, or worldview.

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verb (used without object)

LARPed, LARPing

1. to participate in a live action role-playing game.

2. Informal. to enact a role, identity, conflict, or worldview in a stylized or theatrical way.

LARP British  

/ lɑːp /

noun

1. a type of role-playing game in which each participant assumes a particular character and acts out various scenarios at events which last for a predetermined time

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verb

1. (intr) to participate in such an event

Other Word Forms

• LARPer
  noun
• LARPing
  noun
• larper
  noun

Etymology

Origin of LARP

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

LARP LARPing

It was a hit, so much so that it has essentially been re-imagined by Knott’s Berry Farm and continues to live as Ghost Town Alive, proving that mainstream audiences are, in fact, ready to LARP.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2022

The value of a well-crafted LARP, Mr. Tusk feels, lies beyond its characters and content.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2015

Mr. Tusk suggested another view of the impact of LARP.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2015

From Friday till Sunday, they enacted their individual roles as members of a complex society of vampires — and participants in a LARP.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2015

Wretched Daylight is another LARP, rival vampire clans and vampire hunters, and it's got its own quirky rules.

From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

This was back when LARPing had no life past Civil War reenactors, before cosplay went mainstream, before “Dungeons & Dragons,” Medieval Times restaurants and thatched-roof fantasy blockbuster movies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2024

There is a fine line between aesthetic “cores” and straight up live-action role-playing, or LARPing — another subculture.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2021

Instead, MR had become the medium for a new kind of improvised LARPing, and that, in turn, seemed to have spawned new kinds of work.

From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2020

In lieu of LARPing, this series seems like a decent way to watch what Luke Skywalker can do with a sword that doesn’t glow.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2019

LARPing is Live Action Role Playing, and it's just about what it sounds like: running around in costume, talking in a funny accent, pretending to be a super-spy or a vampire or a medieval knight.

From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow