Definition of "walk-on" []

• A minor role in a theatrical production, usually without speaking lines. (noun)
• A performer playing such a role. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He was a seasoned champion, and I was just some no-name walk-on from Michigan."
• "These days, whether it's at the recent NFL combine or at the Senior Bowl or on the USC practice field, people have a hard time believing Matthews was a walk-on, a kid who loved to play football but was deemed by Division I coaches, including Carroll, to be too slow and too small to make a difference."
• "Then there was the walk-on, Clay Matthews from Agoura Hills, Calif., the son of the former USC great and NFL linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. and the nephew of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews."