Did you know?
Here’s our spiel on spiel: it’s well-known as a noun, and you may also be aware that spiel can be used as a verb meaning “to talk extravagantly,” but did you know that the verb can also mean “to play music”? That, in fact, is the word’s original meaning, and one it shares with its German root, spielen. (Spiel is also found in glockenspiel, the name of a musical instrument similar to the xylophone.) In Scottish English, spiel is also sometimes used as a shortened form of bonspiel, which refers to a match or tournament of the icy game of curling.
Examples of spiel in a Sentence
Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2021
Just landed: Travel news Have podcast, will virtually travel: A good travel podcast acts as an aural postcard, spieling out details about a destination for an audience that’s not jetting off—yet.
—Susan Seubert, National Geographic, 13 May 2020
George had spieled a third version of that boss blonde in the picture.
—James Ellroy, Vanities, 7 Oct. 2017
Esther Brownsmith, The Conversation, 21 Mar. 2024
But this little spiel is just my way of standing up for my younger self—and anyone else facing similar pressures—by saying hooded eyes are perfectly fine.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 2 Apr. 2024
Sari Laufer is a rabbi at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles, which puts on spiels and carnivals.
—Deena Prichep, NPR, 23 Mar. 2024
Be on the lookout for more reaction spiels as more information is revealed on MLB The Show 24.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
But Coke's fourth-quarter revenue beat expectations in spite of inflation and war in Middle East
Coca-Cola stock dipped after executives gave its investors an (apparently) unconvincing spiel about the company’s success on a Tuesday morning (Feb. 13).
—Laura Bratton, Quartz, 13 Feb. 2024
In lieu of generic spiels about how television elevates, presenters and winners talked a bit more about themselves in ways that felt personal without being precious.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 16 Jan. 2024
The union can now move on During the strike, the UAW fell into their standard-issue spiel of corporate greed and non-living wages.
—Adam Hanft, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2023
Bill Walton would linger in the back of the room at Pac-12 media day in years past, the breathless broadcaster listening for a change as coaches and players ran through the usual spiel about their prospects for the season.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spiel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
German spielen to play, from Old High German spilōn; akin to Old English spilian to revel
Verb
1870, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1896, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Spiel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiel. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for spiel
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