noun
playbook
PLAY-buuk
Playbook (noun) means a book of tactics and set plays used by a sports team, especially in American football. Example: “The rookie quarterback spent the offseason memorizing the playbook.”
noun
1
A book of tactics and set plays used by a sports team, especially in American football.
"But since closing his $44 billion buyout of Twitter last week, Mr. Musk has followed a surprisingly conventional social media playbook."
— Kate Conger, Elon Musk Takes a Page Out of Mark Zuckerberg’s Social Media Playbook (2022)
"The rookie quarterback spent the offseason memorizing the playbook."
""It is striking how poorly his usual playbook will work for the Epstein files debacle," Ford wrote, adding that Trump "cannot credibly claim that he is the victim of some kind of 'witch hunt,' even though he is trying to do so.""
— Jennifer Bowers Bahney, 'Struggling' Trump spirals as 'usual playbook' fails to get him out of jam: report (2025)
2
A set of strategies or established methods used to approach a task or situation.
"The startup followed a classic growth playbook: raise money fast, scale faster."
How to use playbook
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA team's book of tactics, or more broadly, a go-to set of strategies for getting something done.
Common pairings
out of the playbook
follow the playbook
standard playbook
Vocabulary Flow
Build your vocabulary from words like playbook.
Vocabulary Flow serves the next word, and the next — meaning, pronunciation and an example each time. Practice at your level, or learn English in your own language.
Start vocabulary practice
Word forms
- Plural
- playbooks
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The rookie quarterback spent the offseason memorizing the _____.
Etymology
A compound of play and book.
Rhymes for playbook
See all rhymes for playbook →Frequently asked questions
What does “playbook” mean?
The word “playbook” means a book of tactics and set plays used by a sports team, especially in American football. In plain terms, a team's book of tactics, or more broadly, a go-to set of strategies for getting something done.
How do you pronounce “playbook”?
“Playbook” is pronounced PLAY-buuk (/ˈpleɪ.bʊk/ in IPA).
How do you use “playbook” in a sentence?
Here is “playbook” used in a sentence: “The rookie quarterback spent the offseason memorizing the playbook.”
What part of speech is “playbook”?
“Playbook” is a noun.
How many meanings does “playbook” have?
“Playbook” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a book of tactics and set plays used by a sports team, especially in American football.
