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What is "ad-lib"

Crossword clues for ad-lib

ad-lib
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
ad-lib
verb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Betsy forgot her lines and had to ad-lib the rest of the scene.
▪ No one could remember the song very well, so we had to ad-lib.
▪ The other actors were thrown into confusion when she started ad-libbing her final speech.
Wiktionary
ad-lib

vb. To improvise all or part of a speech or other performance, ''especially'' in comedy.

WordNet
ad-lib

  1. adj. said or done without having been planned or written in advance; "he made a few ad-lib remarks" [syn: spontaneous, unwritten]

  2. with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments" [syn: extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, offhand, offhanded, off-the-cuff, unrehearsed]

  3. [also: ad-libbing, ad-libbed]

ad-lib

  1. n. remark made spontaneously without prior preparation; "his ad-libs got him in trouble with the politicians"

  2. [also: ad-libbing, ad-libbed]

ad-lib

  1. v. perform without preparation; "he extemporized a speech at the wedding" [syn: improvise, improvize, extemporize, extemporise]

  2. [also: ad-libbing, ad-libbed]

Usage examples of "ad-lib".

I was thinking that if I managed to get by the Martians without a slip I would undertake to ad-lib double talk to a bunch of human reporters as long as they wanted to listen.

Paddy knew no precedent for this, no set phrase, but he'd ad-libbed it nicely.