tic-tac-toe
noun
variants
or tick-tack-toe
: a game in which two players alternately put Xs and Os in compartments of a figure formed by two vertical lines crossing two horizontal lines and each tries to get a row of three Xs or three Os before the opponent does
Examples of tic-tac-toe in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The top unit had its beautiful tic-tac-toe goal in the first, then had another strong power play in the second that didn’t result in a goal.
—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
San Diego State coach Sean Lewis received some pushback last year when the Aztecs shelved the traditional Spring Game and instead did things like dodgeball and tic-tac-toe, had relay races and a throwing accuracy competition.
—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 May 2026
The worker, wearing a black apron coated in flour from making pizzas, then grabbed a handful of flour, plopped it on the counter and created a tic-tac-toe grid using his finger as Valentina watched in awe.
—
Brian Anthony Hernandez,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
Fresh off that honor, Landeskog took a tic-tac-toe pass from Necas and MacKinnon, with the latter finding Landeskog wide open on the weak side of the net for an easy-money 1-0 lead.
—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
That allowed Kempe, Panarin and Byfield to connect on a tic-tac-toe play to secure a gigantic second point.
—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
Chychrun opened the scoring with a rebound off a shot from Alex Ovechkin in front, and 20 seconds later, Strome finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play to extend the lead.
—
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
First goal, the Sharks turn it over in their end and allow a tic-tac-toe goal to Filip Forsberg.
—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
25 Mar. 2026
Lowry scored on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Perfetti and Lowry 13 minutes in that Garand had little chance of preventing.
—
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
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Michael Russo,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
San Diego State coach Sean Lewis received some pushback last year when the Aztecs shelved the traditional Spring Game and instead did things like dodgeball and tic-tac-toe, had relay races and a throwing accuracy competition.
—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 May 2026
The worker, wearing a black apron coated in flour from making pizzas, then grabbed a handful of flour, plopped it on the counter and created a tic-tac-toe grid using his finger as Valentina watched in awe.
—
Brian Anthony Hernandez,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
Fresh off that honor, Landeskog took a tic-tac-toe pass from Necas and MacKinnon, with the latter finding Landeskog wide open on the weak side of the net for an easy-money 1-0 lead.
—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
That allowed Kempe, Panarin and Byfield to connect on a tic-tac-toe play to secure a gigantic second point.
—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
Chychrun opened the scoring with a rebound off a shot from Alex Ovechkin in front, and 20 seconds later, Strome finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play to extend the lead.
—
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
First goal, the Sharks turn it over in their end and allow a tic-tac-toe goal to Filip Forsberg.
—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
25 Mar. 2026
Lowry scored on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Perfetti and Lowry 13 minutes in that Garand had little chance of preventing.
—
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tic-tac-toe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tic-tac-toe. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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