musical chairs

noun

plural in form but singular in construction

: a game in which players march to music around a row of chairs numbering one less than the players and scramble for seats when the music stops

also : a situation or series of events suggesting the game of musical chairs (as in rapid change or confusing activity)

Examples of musical chairs in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Drafting a defensive end early could be the answer to the 49ers’ long-running musical chairs situation at the position. —Matt Barrows, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

Plus, the game of creative-director musical chairs continues with Jonathan Anderson’s departure from Loewe. —Joanna Solotaroff, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2025

As fashion’s calendar fractures and designers play musical chairs, AW25 emerges as a moment of recalibration with brands balancing innovation and heritage. —Angela Lei, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

The Seattle-San Diego pairing, though, was more a result of two teams and cities left out of the fun at the end of a round of musical chairs, so fans reverse engineered a justification. —Melissa Santos, Axios, 17 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for musical chairs

• concessionaires
• affaires
• affairs
• armchairs
• bulgars
• compares
• crosshairs
• declares
• despairs
• downstairs
• forbears
• forebears