wordplay

[ wurd-pley ]

noun

1. clever or subtle repartee; verbal wit.
2. a play on words; pun.

wordplay

/ ˈwɜːdˌpleɪ /

noun

1. verbal wit based on the meanings and ambiguities of words; puns, clever repartee, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of wordplay¹

First recorded in 1870–75; word + play

Example Sentences

Even at its most brooding, “Gemini” is enlivened by amusing wordplay and Heynderickx’s wry delivery.

From New York Times

Now, she says, a song’s success is less about its hookiness or wordplay than about “whether you go, ‘Oh my God, I literally texted that to my friend yesterday.’”

From Los Angeles Times

But Carpenter hits her wordplay climax in “Juno” where she uses the movie name as a reference to pregnancy.

From Salon

It’s very silly, but the naughty wordplay in the song is clever, and the crane shot with the boys swinging their legs in the air toward the camera is sublime.

From Los Angeles Times

And Adam Feldman of Time Out went for wordplay: “With apologies to astronomers: Moon is a star.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• banter
• pleasantry
• rejoinder
• retort
• sarcasm