walk-on

American  

[wawk-on, -awn] / ˈwɔkˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

noun

1. Also called walking part.  a small part in a play or other entertainment, especially one without speaking lines.

2. an entertainer or actor who plays such a part.

3. an athlete trying out for a team who has not been drafted, specifically invited, scouted, awarded a scholarship, etc.

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walk-on British  

noun

1. 1. a small part in a play or theatrical entertainment, esp one without any lines

   2. ( as modifier )

      a walk-on part

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adjective

1. (of an aircraft or air service) having seats to be booked immediately before departure rather than in advance

Etymology

Origin of walk-on

First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase walk on

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

walk-on

This year, 68 of Oklahoma State’s players transferred in, on top of 22 freshmen and a walk-on who has been enrolled at OSU for three years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Appropriately, then, his walk-on music at Wembley was also an Elvis track - in this case, his cover of Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Unable to land a scholarship coming out of high school, Jones used his academic success to enroll at UCLA, where he played as a walk-on for a strong Bruin team coached by Sigi Schmid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

“If I did nothing but eat and lift for six months,” a football fan might fantasize, “I could be a walk-on at the next Jets training camp.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026

Some twenty-five years ago, I and another member of the "Grill-room Club" used occasionally to "walk-on" in the great autumn Drury Lane melodramas.

From Here, There and Everywhere by Lord Frederick Spencer Hamilton

Related Words

• artist
• character
• clown
• comedian
• entertainer
• performer
• player
• star
• villain