tic-tac-toe
Noun: A simple pencil-and-paper game for two players, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3x3 grid with an X or an O. The player who succeeds in placing three of their marks in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row wins the game.
The word "tic-tac-toe" refers specifically to this classic game. It is used as the name of the activity itself. - The children played tic-tac-toe while waiting for their food. - Do you know how to win at tic-tac-toe? - We drew a grid for tic-tac-toe on a napkin.
- "A game of tic-tac-toe": This phrase is often used to specify the activity.
- They had a quick game of tic-tac-toe.
- Noughts and crosses: This is the common British English name for the same game.
- Xs and Os: This is a common informal name for the game, referring directly to the marks used.
- Noughts and crosses (UK variant)
While there are no direct idioms using "tic-tac-toe," the game is sometimes referenced metaphorically to describe a simple, predictable, or zero-sum strategic situation. - The political debate felt less like a discussion and more like a game of tic-tac-toe, with each side just trying to block the other.
- a game in which two players alternately put crosses and circles in one of the compartments of a square grid of nine spaces; the object is to get a row of three crosses or three circles before the opponent does