Meanings
plural byplays · alternative by-play
- countableuncountableentertainmentAny action, carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action.
The father-son byplay is occasionally overdone and tedious, but there is a genuine warmth in both the Oland-Luke and the Toler-Sen Yung teamings.
1983, Frank Northen Magill, Magill's American film guide, volume 1, page 6471 more example
[...] there had been some amusing byplay with the enginemen as to what might be expected to happen if the engines failed to behave themselves properly.
1959 October, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 477 - countableuncountableAny action, by supporting actor.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounincidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic effect
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Czech vedlejší děj
- vedlejší dějany action carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action
Italian controscena
- controscenaany action carried out onstage during a performance, apart from the main action
Cite this entry
byplay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/byplay
“byplay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/byplay. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “byplay,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/byplay.
Source: byplay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.