Did you know?
Here’s our spiel on spiel: it’s well-known as a noun, and you may also be aware that spiel can be used as a verb meaning “to talk extravagantly,” but did you know that the verb can also mean “to play music”? That, in fact, is the word’s original meaning, and one it shares with its German root, spielen. (Spiel is also found in glockenspiel, the name of a musical instrument similar to the xylophone.) In Scottish English, spiel is also sometimes used as a shortened form of bonspiel, which refers to a match or tournament of the icy game of curling.
Examples of spiel in a Sentence
Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2021
Just landed: Travel news Have podcast, will virtually travel: A good travel podcast acts as an aural postcard, spieling out details about a destination for an audience that’s not jetting off—yet.
—Susan Seubert, National Geographic, 13 May 2020
Joel Khalili, WIRED, 30 May 2023
Hahn seemed taken aback but gamely launched into her spiel.
—Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spiel 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spiel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near spiel
Cite this Entry
“Spiel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiel. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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