musical chairs
A children's game in which players circle a group of chairsA children's game in which players circle a group of chairs. There is one chair fewer than the number of players. When someone who is not watching stops playing music, everybody sits down, and the player left without a chair is eliminated.
Meaning
2 senses(uncountable)A children's game in which players circle a group of chairs. There is one chair fewer than the number of players. When someone who is not watching stops playing music, everybody sits down, and the player left without a chair is eliminated.
Reise nach Jerusalem, Stuhltanz
музыка́льные сту́льяmuzykálʹnyje stúlʹja
a child's game in which players march to music around a group of chairs that contains one chair less than the number of players; when the music abruptly stops the players scramble to sit and the player who does not find a chair is eliminated; then a chair is removed and the march resumes until only the winner is seated
(figuratively, uncountable)Any activity which results in repeated, pointless shuffling of people or objects.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Synonyms
2 synonyms- a child's game in which players march to music around a group of chairs that contains one chair less than the number of players; when the music abruptly stops the players scramble to sit and the player who does not find a chair is eliminated; then a chair is removed and the march resumes until only the winner is seated:going to Jerusalem
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.