wordplay

American  

[wurd-pley] / ˈwɜrdˌpleɪ /

noun

1. clever or subtle repartee; verbal wit.

2. a play on words; pun.

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wordplay British  

/ ˈwɜːdˌpleɪ /

noun

1. verbal wit based on the meanings and ambiguities of words; puns, clever repartee, etc

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Etymology

Origin of wordplay

First recorded in 1870–75; word + play

Example Sentences

“What doesn’t kill you calls you six months later” — that’s about as clean as Nashville wordplay gets.

From Los Angeles Times

The banter between Hamlet and the gravedigger allows for the kind of witty wordplay that is Izzard’s stand-up stock-in-trade.

From Los Angeles Times

It seems at first too clever for the grim subject matter, riffing on wordplay around “jeans” and “genes,” like the controversial American Eagle advertisements starring Sydney Sweeney from the past year.

From The Wall Street Journal

And Amy Nicholson of the LA Times concluded: "William Shakespeare wouldn't be wowed by this domestic drama about his home life back in Stratford-upon-Avon. Where's the action? The wit? The wordplay?"

From BBC

That thought also applied to the design and use of captions throughout the film, which begins with witty wordplay during the title sequence.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• banter
• pleasantry
• rejoinder
• retort
• sarcasm