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
Off an Avs’ chance, the Blues reversed the ice in a 3-on-2 rush that led to a tic-tac-toe pass and Thomas’ second goal of the night.
—
Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 6 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
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
But 39 seconds into the second period, with some leftover power-play time, the Eagles did take the lead on a tic-tac-toe play by a trio of Bruins’ draft picks.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 21 Mar. 2026
In these types of games, one player tries to block another from moving; one example is tic-tac-toe.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 10 Feb. 2026
This design features a mix of sparkly red tops, a heart-centric tic-tac-toe board, and a love letter.
—Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 31 Jan. 2026
And again, the Wild answered, with Faber capping a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play with Kaprizov and Danila Yurov.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
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Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 6 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
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
But 39 seconds into the second period, with some leftover power-play time, the Eagles did take the lead on a tic-tac-toe play by a trio of Bruins’ draft picks.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 21 Mar. 2026
In these types of games, one player tries to block another from moving; one example is tic-tac-toe.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 10 Feb. 2026
This design features a mix of sparkly red tops, a heart-centric tic-tac-toe board, and a love letter.
—Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 31 Jan. 2026
And again, the Wild answered, with Faber capping a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play with Kaprizov and Danila Yurov.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tic-tac-toe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tic-tac-toe. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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