Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Having a non-speaking role: Describes a performer, especially in a theatrical production, who appears on stage but does not have any spoken lines.
   • Minor or background: Refers to a part that is very small and does not involve significant action or dialogue.

2. Noun:

   • A small theatrical role: A role in a play, film, or other dramatic production that is very minor, often without spoken lines.
   • A performer in such a role: An actor or extra who performs a walk-on part.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • She had a walk-on role in the first act, simply crossing the stage.
  • The director needed several walk-on actors to fill the crowd scene.

• Noun:

  • His first job in Hollywood was a walk-on in a television series.
  • The play has two walk-ons who serve as palace guards.

Advanced Usage

• "to do a walk-on": to perform a minor, non-speaking role.
  • The famous actor agreed to do a walk-on as a favor to the director.

Variants and Related Words

• Extra (noun): A performer in a nonspeaking or background role, often in a crowd scene. (Similar to a walk-on but sometimes used more for film/TV.)
• Cameo (noun): A brief, notable appearance by a well-known performer in a minor role, which may or may not involve speaking. (A walk-on is typically less prominent than a cameo.)
• Non-speaking role (noun phrase): A direct synonym for a walk-on part.

Synonyms

• Bit part (noun): A very small acting role.
• Extra (noun): A performer hired for a background role.
• Supernumerary (noun, formal): An extra in a theatrical production.

Related Phrases

• Walk-on part (noun phrase): The most common phrase to specify the type of role.
  • She auditioned for a leading role but was offered a walk-on part instead.

Adjective

1. not capable of or especially not involving speech or spoken lines
   • had a nonspeaking role in the play

Noun

1. plays a small part in a dramatic production