: a bill (see bill entry 4 sense 5a) advertising a public performance or set of performances
A playbill—an early poster—advertising Shakespeare's Hamlet at Newcastle's original Theatre Royal in Mosley Street in December 1791 was discovered among prints bought in an auction sale …—
Evening Chronicle
Evening ChronicleSo the two began plastering up playbills and cultivating a badboy image.—Logan Hill
Logan Hill
—used for a theater program (see program entry 1 sense 2a)
Examples of playbill in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Toria Sheffield, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
He was still listed in the Bushnell playbill on Tuesday, but an insert page in that playbill announced that Jonah Barricklo, Almeida’s understudy, is now Peter Pan.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2025
Back in October, early theatergoers were delighted to discover an Easter egg Hilty had planted in the playbill.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 22 Nov. 2024
The sweet post featured a photo of the costars backstage followed by throwback pictures of the two of them and one snap of Armitage, 16, holding up the show’s playbill.
—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for playbill
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Noun
The Musical on Broadway at The Broadhurst Theatre in N.Y.C. on April 5.
31 of 120
Effortlessly Chic
Jennifer Lopez holds a playbill backstage at the new musical Buena Vista Social Club at The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City on April 5.
—Toria Sheffield, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
He was still listed in the Bushnell playbill on Tuesday, but an insert page in that playbill announced that Jonah Barricklo, Almeida’s understudy, is now Peter Pan.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2025
Back in October, early theatergoers were delighted to discover an Easter egg Hilty had planted in the playbill.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 22 Nov. 2024
The sweet post featured a photo of the costars backstage followed by throwback pictures of the two of them and one snap of Armitage, 16, holding up the show’s playbill.
—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for playbill
Cite this Entry
“Playbill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playbill. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
playbill
noun
play·bill
ˈplā-ˌbil 
: a poster advertising a play
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