musical chairs

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noun

Also called going to Jerusalem. a game in which players march to music around two rows of chairs placed back to back, there being one chair less than the number of players, the object being to find a seat when the music stops abruptly. The player failing to do so is removed from the game, together with one chair, at each interval.

Informal. a situation or series of events in which jobs, decisions, prospects, etc., are changed with confusing rapidity.

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Origin of musical chairs

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby musical chairs

Musial, music, musica ficta, musical, musical box, musical chairs, musical chairs, play, musical comedy, musicale, musical glasses, musicality

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use musical chairs in a sentence

They were carpenters making chairs, beds and other rudimentary pieces of furniture for the locals.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was treated like an immigrant, working for minimum wage, missing his family and having to move on from his musical career.
Cuban Hip-Hop Was Born in Alamar|Daniel Levin|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her very first performance onstage came at the age of 4, when she cameoed as a dancing flower in the musical Bye Bye Birdie.
Jena Malone’s Long, Strange Trip From Homelessness to Hollywood Stardom|Marlow Stern|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her mother had a musical theater background, so Malone grew up backstage, watching productions come to fruition.
Jena Malone’s Long, Strange Trip From Homelessness to Hollywood Stardom|Marlow Stern|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I heard that at one point you were trying to put together a Batman musical on Broadway.
Tim Burton Talks ‘Big Eyes,’ His Taste For the Macabre, and the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel|Marlow Stern|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The crowd shuffled off in all directions, and then engaged in a confused struggle for the chairs.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
All my musical studies till now have been a mere going to school, a preparation for him.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
You see, they always butter their chairs so that they won't stick fast when they sit down.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
In connection with this step the practice of melodies is useful, if one has musical taste.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
In the centre of the room is an oval table; some dozen men are sitting at it; as many more stand behind their chairs.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for musical chairs

musical chairs

noun (functioning as singular)

a party game in which players walk around chairs while music is played, there being one fewer chair than players. Whenever the music stops, the player who fails to find a chair is eliminated

any situation involving a number of people in a series of interrelated changes

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