to play the field
13
7.7
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
salir con varias personas
- After my last relationship, I decided to play the field and enjoy dating casually.
- wants to play the field
- likes to play the field
- get to play the field
Like that guy has to be so done with playing the field and so ready to start a family and settle down.
- Like that guy has to be so done with playing the field and so ready to start a family and settle down.
- Now, I know some of you might say, well, if he loves this woman and he feels like he, she's the one, why wouldn't he be done playing the field?
- I sowed all the wild oats that I could have possibly were big time and played the field.
- I'm going to use the example of he doesn't feel ready because he's not sure if he if he's done playing the field.
Examples
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It's good to play the field at your age.
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Maybe you should look around... play the field, check out some other guys.
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I mean, it's like people expect me to play the field.
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I like to play the field.
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Yeah, you gotta play the field.
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Hey, how about going out with me tonight instead of playing the field?
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So, you broke up with her before the summer, so you could be free to play the field?
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But I'm just sort of playing the field right now.
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You know, I'm sure he just wants to play the field a little.
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Shouldn't you play the field a little?
Blog text (16)
Synonyms
9
9.1
Having sex with many different people without a steady partner
1
9.3
A man who has casual sexual or romantic relationships with many women without wanting a serious relationship
To have sex with many different people in a short time
Antonyms
How Committed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The dating sense is a metaphorical extension of 'play' (engage casually) combined with 'field' (an area of potential partners), so there is a loose compositional link but not a direct, literal meaning. An average B1 learner who only knows the basic senses of 'play' and 'field' is unlikely to predict the idiomatic sense without prior exposure, and equivalents vary across languages, so the item is partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Play the field may come from sports: imagine a player who moves across the whole field, trying different places and teams instead of staying in one spot. So, to play the field now means 'to date several different people without committing to a serious relationship'.