ad-lib

1 of 3

verb

ad-libbed; ad-libbing

transitive verb

: to deliver spontaneously

intransitive verb

: to improvise especially lines or a speech
ad-lib noun

ad-lib

2 of 3

adjective

: spoken, composed, or performed without preparation

ad lib

3 of 3

adverb

1
: in accordance with one's wishes
2
: without restraint or limit

Examples of ad-lib in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
After Carpenter sang her cheeky ad-lib lyrics, which included a reference to the famous indoor waterfall inside Singapore's Jewel Changi shopping mall, Keoghan smiled and immediately raised his hands above his head in applause. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024 The theater erupted in laughter, but Stewart encouraged him to keep talking about his process after the ad-lib. Variety, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024 No, that's not an ad-lib auto-populated by a word cloud compilation of my secret Pinterest boards circa 2014. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 18 Jan. 2024 The producers let Sorkin ad-lib some of her lines, adding a spontaneity to the usually glum proceedings. Neil Genzlinger, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023 When people ad-lib or give their acceptance speeches, the captioners are working from scratch. Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 June 2023 And Grace recorded just an ad-lib vocal, and then went through and chopped it up and then built that chorus vocal chop riff thing. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2023 His creative starting point ranges from bass line, poem or even a one-off ad-lib in the kitchen on a weeknight. Beatrice Hazlehurst, Billboard, 31 Mar. 2023
Adjective
He's given me a lot of leeway and a lot of leash to go improv and ad-lib and create the character, which is always really fun. Devan Coggan, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2023 At the same time, more ad-lib moments are often expected onstage, bound to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Mar. 2023 Kimmel had to ad-lib when introducing the editing award. Michael Schneider, Variety, 13 Mar. 2023
Adverb
Rich delved into the president’s self-abasing effort to walk back the strongest moment of his State of the Union address — an ad lib ... Noah Rothman, National Review, 11 Mar. 2024 But even when the speech texts make allowances for Biden’s limitations and his suppressed stutter, the president can still spoil everything with an undisciplined ad lib. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 19 Sep. 2023 Jenna Ortega is defending her choice to ad lib lines while filming Wednesday despite the backlash for doing so. Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 6 June 2023 The drive-by outburst wasn’t an ad lib. Denise Martin, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2021 The actor decided to ad lib. Julia MacCary, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023 That was a Mark [Ruffalo] ad lib! Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Aug. 2022 What’s the purpose of the ad lib? Rob Tannenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2022 And was an ad lib. Vulture, 21 Feb. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ad-lib.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

derivative of ad lib

Adjective

derivative of ad lib

Adverb

short for ad libitum entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1910, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adjective

1819, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ad-lib was in 1791

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near ad-lib

Cite this Entry

“Ad-lib.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ad-lib. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ad-lib

1 of 3 verb
(ˈ)ad-ˈlib
ad-libbed; ad-libbing
: to improvise especially lines or a speech

ad-lib

2 of 3 adjective
: spoken, composed, or performed without preparation
an ad-lib speech

ad lib

3 of 3 adverb
: without restraint or limit
known for talking ad lib

Medical Definition

ad-lib

1 of 2 adjective
: made or done spontaneously : not controlled by a schedule
ad-lib feeding of animals

ad lib

2 of 2 adverb
: without restraint or imposed limit : as much or as often as is wanted
the animals were given water ad libScience
often used in writing prescriptions

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