afterplay

noun

af·ter·play ˈaf-tər-ˌplā

: intimate activity that takes place following sexual intercourse

Now we're not knocking foreplay … but we thought it was about time too-often-overlooked afterplay got some airtime.—

Amy Spencer, Cosmopolitan, June 2000

Like other babies from those species of horned lizards that hatch from eggs, the lizard in my hand would never know its mother and would probably never know any kind of physical closeness to other horned lizards except during mating and the occasional lingering afterplay.—

Susan Hazen-Hammond, Smithsonian, December 1994

Word History

Etymology

after- + (fore)play

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of afterplay was in 1971

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Afterplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afterplay. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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