to play
- verb
- /pleɪ/
- Mathematics teachers revealed they do not play a significant role in making mathematics placement decisions.
- play games
- play a trick
- play with the meaning
The hardest feeling to play is no feeling.
- The hardest feeling to play is no feeling.
- And that is don't play hard to get.
- Do men love women who play hard to get?
- Is your objection that your dad is getting played and exploited?
- Now they're being played like one of them, honestly.
- What is that You're playing me Walgreens.
- I mean, you look, I don't don't play me like we hold on.
Examples
-
Kenny, stop playing with me.
-
There is, of course, more to this story, and you will play your part.
Academic text (2013) -
Did I just get played that hard?
-
You were the only one we were really scared of... and instead you were almost playing on our team.
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What does she think I'm doing here, playing games?
-
Foreign governments occasionally try to play games with the end of a U.S. president's term.
Academic text (1992) -
Remember when you were little and we'd play dress up?
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And it's weird how we unconsciously play into these dynamics.
-
Jorge was allowed to play with each item for 30-60 seconds before the assessment began.
Academic text (2013) -
He decided to play along with their little prank to avoid hurting their feelings.
Synonyms
Behave in a certain way, often to pretend or hide feelings
To act as if something is true when it is not
To handle something in a playful, not serious way
To agree or pretend to agree to avoid trouble
Pretend to feel something, like surprise or interest, to trick other people
Pretend to have qualities or feelings you do not have
To perform a scene or feeling like a short play
Pretend something is real for fun or play
To make someone believe something that is not true as a joke
To use secret or unfair actions to gain power at work
To take the role of a character in a video game
Treat someone as stupid to trick or cheat them
Act in a silly way to make others laugh or avoid being serious
To fool someone as a joke
To trick someone in a friendly way to make them laugh
To treat someone or something without proper respect
Do small tricks to surprise or make someone laugh
Act as if you are someone or something imaginary
To act out a scene to practice or show how something happens
To pretend to be a person in a story on stage or with friends
Act as a character in a play or drama
Try to get someone's approval by giving false praise
To trick someone who trusts you by hiding your real plans to get something for yourself
To trick someone as a joke
Act in a silly way like a clown to make people laugh
To trick someone easily so you can get what you want
Make two people or groups compete to get an advantage for yourself
Idioms
- Informal
Act in a careless way by ignoring rules and other people's feelings
Not part of the game, for example when the ball or a player leaves the playing area
- Offensive
To pretend to be treated unfairly to get sympathy or avoid blame
- Literature
To mention someone's gender to gain an advantage in a discussion
- Informal
To put a lot of effort into work and enjoy free time actively
- Slang
Tell someone angrily to do something dangerous to stop them complaining
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
Date several different people without wanting a serious relationship
To trick someone who trusts you by hiding your real plans to get something for yourself
To act as if you are attracted to the opposite sex to hide your true sexual feelings
Compounds
Honest behavior that treats everyone the same and follows the rules in sport or competition
- Literature
A play where characters are good or bad qualities to teach right and wrong
- Specialized
Works as soon as you connect or install it without needing any setup
A golf contest where each hole is a separate game and the player who wins more holes wins the contest
- Specialized
A play in American football where a player throws the ball forward to a teammate
- Jargon
A baseball or softball play when the defending team gets three players out in one action
- Jargon
A football play where the quarterback fakes a pass then hands the ball to a running back
- Jargon
The normal action during a game not counting set pieces like free kicks or penalties
A planned move in American football by the team with the ball to move it or score
- Literature
A play from the Middle Ages that tells Bible stories, often about Jesus, performed for people
A group performance where actors read a play aloud without full sets or learning lines
- Jargon
A baseball play where a runner on third base tries to score as the batter bunts
- Specialized
A play where a runner must advance and a fielder with the ball touches the base first
- Jargon
A baseball play where a runner on third base waits for a bunt then runs home to avoid being out
- Literature
A short ancient Greek play mixing serious drama with rude comedy and actors dressed as half-man, half-goat creatures
- Jargon
A risky baseball play where the runner on third base runs home while the batter bunts
- Jargon
A play that lets a defender pass the start line then blocks them to open a gap for the runner
How Deceptive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Play comes from the old English plegian, meaning 'to act or treat as a game', so when you 'play' with someone's feelings it means you treat them like a game rather than with real care.