: 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 WebEdward Segarra, USA TODAY, 17 June 2024
Later that year, Hunt documented another special moment with her daughter in August 2017, with the two taking a selfie for Instagram, posing behind their Hamilton playbills in the theater to see Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical.
—Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
But Gevinson dressed up her quotidian base with lively accessories, wearing bubblegum-pink lug-sole shoes and a thematically appropriate beaded playbill purse from Susan Alexandra.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2023
The final photo of the carousel includes a photo of Larson holding up her Spamalot playbill in the foreground with the St. James Theatre stage in the background.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for playbill 
Noun
Jolie-Pitt allegedly had her surname shortened to Jolie for the Broadway production's playbill, per the outlets, amid Jolie and ex-husband Brad Pitt’s yearslong legal battle.
—Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 17 June 2024
Later that year, Hunt documented another special moment with her daughter in August 2017, with the two taking a selfie for Instagram, posing behind their Hamilton playbills in the theater to see Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical.
—Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
But Gevinson dressed up her quotidian base with lively accessories, wearing bubblegum-pink lug-sole shoes and a thematically appropriate beaded playbill purse from Susan Alexandra.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2023
The final photo of the carousel includes a photo of Larson holding up her Spamalot playbill in the foreground with the St. James Theatre stage in the background.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for playbill
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'playbill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near playbill
Cite this Entry
“Playbill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playbill. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
playbill
noun
play·bill
ˈplā-ˌbil 
: a poster advertising a play
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