playdate

American  

[pley-deyt] / ˈpleɪˌdeɪt /

Or play date

noun

1. an appointment made by parents or caregivers from different families to have their young children play together.

   My son has a playdate this afternoon, so I’ll be picking him up early from day care.

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Etymology

Origin of playdate

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

“He’s proud of the fact that their house is the site of every playdate, that he butts heads with his toddler, that he stalks the halls as ‘Papa T-rex.’”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026

The group of about eight women clicked, meeting for a weekly playdate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

On Sunday morning, as I was looking for shoes and packing snacks, I heard a rumor that ICE was on the same block as my child’s playdate.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2025

Ralph Yarl told authorities his mother sent him to pick up his siblings from a playdate at around 22:00 local time that night.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025

When our dads had discovered we lived on the same street, our moms had thought it would be fun to have a playdate.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas