ad-lib
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Williams was elusive and made some great ad-lib plays down the stretch, and they dominated possession, but allowing big plays cost them dearly.
From BBC • Dec. 8, 2025
There’s literally an ad-lib, which is a no-no with August Wilson, that Boy Willie says to his niece, “You feel that? That’s your family, that’s your blood.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2024
The speech isn’t something he can ad-lib or pull from memory, hence the notes, and he’d never use a PowerPoint presentation.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2024
Whether this comment is a favored ad-lib or something his speechwriters cooked up, it needs to go, immediately.
From Slate • Feb. 9, 2024
Kids wouldn’t move to the right places during rehearsals, or would ad-lib wisecracks, which Mrs. Finley didn’t think at all funny.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Vocabulary lists containing ad-lib
Reading: Literature - Drama - Introductory
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Theater - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Drama - Middle School
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