as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
when he saw us spraying each other with the hose instead of washing the car, Dad yelled, "Cut out the horseplay!"
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Recent Examples of horseplay
Slight edge: Colts Coaching: Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has some excellent offensive horseplay and an equally excellent name.
—
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
Butch Baker, who was Henry County sheriff until 2014, recalled an incident in which Bertram was accused of inappropriate horseplay at the community corrections office.
—Tony Cook, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2025
Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.
—Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horseplay
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
Butch Baker, who was Henry County sheriff until 2014, recalled an incident in which Bertram was accused of inappropriate horseplay at the community corrections office.
—Tony Cook, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2025
Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.
—Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horseplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horseplay
Noun
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Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes — which West agrees to — before exiting the stage.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
28 Dec. 2025
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Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.—
Greg Cote
December 20,
Miami Herald,
20 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The boys challenge each other to throw heavy objects, which leads to intense roughhousing.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
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The actor shared rare photos of the teen with his younger siblings, getting it in at the gym, hiking, and roughhousing.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The clowning isn’t over just yet, though.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
13 Jan. 2026
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Art, meanwhile, occupies a lonely table in the pizzeria and tries to put on his best clowning act for the two women.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This is why some people work nine hours a day, go to the gym, and roughhouse with their kids in the evening, while others already feel tired just thinking about this daily schedule.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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This makes the roughhouse ballet a satisfying bridge to the final scene in Roberta’s room, where their vulnerabilities are revealed.—
Peter Marks,
Washington Post,
14 Nov. 2023
Noun
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The Jazz are 15-35, which puts them at the sixth pick if zero lottery-ball tomfoolery happens.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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But enough of all that tomfoolery, because there is one person on the beach who knows exactly what is about to happen!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Death by Lightning, adapted by Mike Makowsky from Candice Millard’s 2011 nonfiction book and directed by Matt Ross, hums with the strength of these performances, particularly Shannon’s quiet composure and Macfadyen mining new depths of buffoonery.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
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North Coast Rep will present a show Dec. 11-Dec. 14 with bubbling energy and comedic buffoonery in the British Pantomime version of The Adventures of Robin Hood as its next student production.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Nov. 2025
Noun
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As for Abdul-Mateen, the clownery will resume for him on Broadway.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2022
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Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
Noun
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Each episode is full of kid-friendly slapstick violence and mean-spirited comedy, giving the series more in common with Looney Tunes and Tex Avery than with squeaky-clean Disney fare.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Jan. 2026
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Park stages Man-su’s homicide attempts as slapstick set pieces in which our clumsy antihero himself barely gets out alive.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Horseplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horseplay. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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