wordplay

[ wurd-pley ]

/ ˈwɜrdˌpleɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wordplay ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

clever or subtle repartee; verbal wit.

Nearby words

wordie, wording, wordless, wordlessly, wordmonger, wordplay, words, words fail me, words of one syllable, in, words stick in one's throat, words to that effect

Origin of wordplay

First recorded in 1870–75; word + play

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wordplay

He created a special puzzle for Oprah Winfrey when he appeared on the show to promote the Wordplay documentary about crosswords.
The Crossword Puzzle Turns 100: The ‘King of Crossword’ on Its Strange History|Kevin Fallon|December 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once again, wordplay and ethnicity wounded an office-seeking Virginia Republican.
‘Last Supper’ Flap Dredges Up Ken Cuccinelli’s Demons|Lloyd Green|September 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The most retweeted messages are those with jests and puns and wordplay—and graffiti.
Smiling Under a Cloud of Tear Gas: Elif Shafak on Istanbul’s Streets|Elif Shafak|June 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Occasionally, he would write brief letters to the editor using the name A. Sock, wordplay on “Punch”—his nickname since boyhood.
The Quotable Arthur Sulzberger|Abby Haglage|September 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Wordplay Bradlee could be prolix or pithy, as suited his ends.
Dear Asshole: The Letters of Ben Bradlee From New Biography|Matthew DeLuca|May 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Abbott and he sometimes swerved into wordplay about love; but up to 1820, or thereabouts, the passion was potential merely.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2|John Tyndall

British Dictionary definitions for wordplay

wordplay

/ (ˈwɜːdˌpleɪ) /

noun

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

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