musical chairs

noun

plural in form but singular in construction

: a game in which players march to music around a row of chairs numbering one less than the players and scramble for seats when the music stops

also : a situation or series of events suggesting the game of musical chairs (as in rapid change or confusing activity)

Examples of musical chairs in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

With only five seats available, the election will be a game of musical chairs, leaving the lowest vote-getter as the sole loser. —

Austin Corona, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 Last week, Pete Buttigieg sat in a studio in Michigan, surrounded by 25 undecided voters who rushed, musical chairs style, to sit across a table from him and debate his positions on Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s policies. —

Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024 Similar to a game of musical chairs, someone is left without a seat when the music stops. —

Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 31 Oct. 2024 The development comes amid fevered — and often spurious — speculation about the vast game of musical chairs playing out at the highest echelons of European fashion. —

Miles Socha, WWD, 14 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for musical chairs

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of musical chairs was in 1877

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Musical chairs.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/musical%20chairs. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation