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ad lib

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ad lib

  [ad lib, ad]
Use ad lib in a Sentence
–noun
1. something improvised in speech, music, etc.: Was that joke part of your speech or an ad lib?
–adverb
2. at one's pleasure; without restriction.
3. freely; as needed; without stint: Water can be given to the patients ad lib.
Origin:
1810–20; see ad libitum
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ad-lib

  [ad-lib, ad-] verb, -libbed, -lib⋅bing, adjective
–verb (used with object)
1. to improvise all or part of (a speech, a piece of music, etc.): to ad-lib one's lines.
–verb (used without object)
2. to act, speak, etc., without preparation: Throughout the play he had to ad-lib constantly.
–adjective
3. impromptu; extemporaneous: ad-lib remarks to hecklers.
Origin:
1915–20, Americanism; v. use of ad lib

Related forms:
ad-libber, noun

ad lib.

 
ad libitum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ad lib
ad lib   (ād lĭb')   
adv.  In an unrestrained manner; spontaneously.

[Short for ad libitum.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ad lib 
1811, from L. ad libitum "at one's pleasure, as much as one likes" (1610), from libere "to please." First recorded as one word 1919 (v.), 1925 (n.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ad–lib
Pronunciation: (')ad-'lib
Function: adjective
: made or done spontaneously : not controlled by a schedule<ad–lib feeding of animals>

Main Entry: ad lib
Pronunciation: (')ad-'lib
Function: adverb
: without restraint or imposed limit : as much or as often as is wanted ad lib —Science> —often used in writing prescriptions
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

ad lib. abbr.
Latin ad libitum (freely, as desired)

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
ad lib
Latin ad libitum (at pleasure, speak without notes or script—that is, an unscripted comment)
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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