1
: being or giving a running commentary on a sports event
a radio play-by-play announcer
2
: relating each event as it occurs
play-by-play noun

Examples of play-by-play in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Manzano covered the Chiefs as a sideline reporter and was the play-by-play caller for the KC Current for Tico Sports. Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2025 Ken Korach, the team’s longtime radio broadcaster, will continue as the club’s primary play-by-play announcer while former Sacramento River Cats radio voice Johnny Doskow will return to West Sacramento to help call games. Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 14 Feb. 2025 Bill Macdonald has established himself as one of the smoother and more reliable play-by-play calls, while Stu Lantz has been at this for the Lakers across four decades. Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025 That already took place on Sept. 8, 2024, Brady’s debut on Fox, working Dallas-Cleveland with his play-by-play partner Kevin Burkhardt. Bob Raissman, New York Daily News, 8 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for play-by-play 

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of play-by-play was in 1927

Dictionary Entries Near play-by-play

Cite this Entry

“Play-by-play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play-by-play. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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