musical chairs

American  

noun

1. 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.

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

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musical chairs British  

noun

1. 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

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

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Etymology

Origin of musical chairs

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

musical chairs

One Thai Olympic official told AFP it was "like musical chairs".

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

It functioned as a musical chairs of sorts, in which the contestants switched partners until the music was paused, and a couple was announced.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

There are plenty of ways to account for this upset, from polling errors to the musical chairs at the ballot box to Hong’s failure to spend basically any money on TV ads.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

Erin Mulvaney explains how the Wachtell defections reflect a broader trend of elite New York firms losing ground to bigger rivals, where rainmakers play high-stakes musical chairs for pay packages rivaling those of NBA stars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

I can’t go soft—not as long as I’m nobody’s real kid—not while I’m just something to play musical chairs with .

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson