Synonyms

name of the game

American

noun

Informal.

the essential element, consideration, or ultimate purpose; key.

Profit is the name of the game in business.

Etymology

Origin of name of the game

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Triple-digit sales growth is the name of the game for CoreWeave, and that will be the first thing Wall Street analysts will look at when earnings are released.

From Barron's

“Restoration is the name of the game, not intrusion,” Mike told me, and he wasn’t talking just about the estuary.

From Los Angeles Times

Patience was the name of the game for England after Ben Duckett and Rehan Ahmed lost theirs, but Root produced a masterclass in it.

From BBC

Flexibility is the name of the game, second only to talent.

From Salon

“Fractures, fluid, pathways, permeability, that’s kind of the name of the game for us,” said Nils Caliandro, the lead geologist for Big Blind.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023