Word.ws English Dictionary

ad libbing

ad libbing is the present participle and gerund of ad lib.

Meaning of ad lib

Verb

ad lib (third-person singular simple present ad libs, present participle ad libbing, simple past and past participle ad libbed)

  1. To perform without a script.
    Synonyms:
    fake
  2. To perform without preparation.
  3. To perform extemporaneously.
    • She ad libbed the rest of the scene.
  4. (intransitive, chiefly hip hop) To perform ad libs; to improvise lyrics after the main lyrics have been recorded.
  5. (transitive, chiefly hip hop) To perform (lyrics) as ad libs.

See all 13 meanings of ad lib

Questions about ad libbing

What is ad libbing the present participle and gerund of?
Ad libbing is the present participle and gerund of ad lib.

Words near ad libbing in the dictionary

  1. ad inventories
  2. ad inventory
  3. ad lib
  4. ad lib.
  5. ad libbed
  6. ad libbing
  7. ad libitum
  8. ad libs
  9. ad lip
  10. ad lips
  11. ad litem

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ad libbing (page history and authors); ad lib (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “ad libbing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ad_libbing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.