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Today, "audition" most often refers to a theatrical tryout, but that wasn't always the case. "Audition" is rooted in the Latin verb audire, meaning "to hear," and was first used in the late 16th century to refer to the power or sense of hearing. "Audire" is also the root of such "hearing" words in English as "audible," "audience" (which first meant "the act or state of hearing"), and the prefix audio-, which appears in various words relating to sound. It wasn't until late 19th century that the noun "audition" began being used for an entertainer's trial performance. And the verb audition, meaning "to test or try out in an audition," didn't appear on the English language stage until the mid-20th century.
Examples of audition in a Sentence
Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
From all the auditions across the country, 143 contestants got golden tickets to Hollywood.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2024
But the audition required him to learn a lot of technical speak about the character, Mr. Vup, an alien with an advanced sense of smell.
—Jenelle Riley, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
During her best friend and roommate Julia Davo's audition in Los Angeles, Raghu stepped out to show her support, and then ended up singing before the panel.
—Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
The Japan-debut single by the nine-member boy band assembled from the audition program BOYS PLANET jumps 47-3 after being released March 20, hitting No. 1 for sales with 516,721 copies sold in its first week.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 28 Mar. 2024
When 18-year-old Garrison Bennett walked into the audition room Sunday, the judges instantly noticed his resemblance to a young Richie.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar. 2024
Four months, multiple video auditions, interviews with producers, a background check and two evaluations later, Hasbun woke up one morning to a new email that would change her life.
—Paula Soria, The Arizona Republic, 24 Mar. 2024
She's rocked it on various Instagram posts chronicling the filming of AGT's season 19 auditions.
—Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
As the trailer shows, Minx is auditioning for her break even as a mysterious killer known as The Night Stalker is murdering women in Hollywood.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Perhaps the 49ers will be compelled to chase another pass rusher with their first-round pick (No. 31 overall) rather than rely so heavily on auditioning the current crew.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Spraggan auditioned for season 9 in the U.K. and ultimately finished in ninth place and second in her category after dropping out due to being ill.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2024
Rosie Perez, Salma Hayek and Jada Pinkett Smith also auditioned, but producers decided to go with the then relatively unknown Carrie-Anne Moss.
—Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
One Direction formed in 2010 after all five members auditioned separately on The X Factor.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2024
Other actresses auditioned for that part, but Ridley couldn’t land on who to play Chisholm’s younger sister and reluctant supporter.
—Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
At various points in the 1980s, Bush and Vera each had offers to audition for spots with thrash metal titans Metallica but decided to stick with Armored Saint.
—Mike Palm, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'audition.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin audītiōn-, audītiō "act of hearing, report, rumor," from audīre "to hear" + -tiōn- -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at audible entry 1
Verb
derivative of audition entry 1
Noun
1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1931, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
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Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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Dictionary Entries Near audition
Cite this Entry
“Audition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/audition. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
audition
1 of 2 noun
audition
2 of 2 verb
Medical Definition
audition
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on audition
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for audition
Nglish: Translation of audition for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of audition for Arabic Speakers
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