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Glite Dictionary
to play the game

to play the game

137 3.3
To take part in a contest or activity by following the rules
  • idiom
translation icon : saber jugar
  • It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that counts, right?
  • learn to play the game
  • know how to play the game
  • participants play the game

And then you can play the game of life from there.

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Examples

  • This is the way we play the game here.

    Step Up (2006)

  • And then you can play the game of life from there.

    Evan Carmichael

  • You got to show up if you want to play the game, kids, right?

  • So before we play the game, do you guys have any questions?

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • This is where business owners who know how to play the game get filthy rich.

    Alex Hormozi

  • After the second word, the experimenter asked, "Do you understand how to play the game?"

    Academic text (2012)

  • You cannot effectively play the game if you don't know the game.

  • If you want to succeed in sales, you need to know how to play the game effectively.

  • Before we start the tournament, let's discuss how to play the game properly.

  • She decided to play the game according to the rules to avoid any disputes.

Synonyms

to play
vsto play the game
∞ 1.0

Take part in a game or sport for fun

is about competing specifically under established rules and conventions
to play game
vsto play the game
200 1.0

To take part in fun activities that have rules

is focused on competing within established rules and conventions

Antonyms

to cheat
474 1.2

To act dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage

to flout
12 7.9

To openly disobey a rule or law to show you do not respect it

How Cooperative

to join in
143 1.1
to play the game
137 3.3
to take part
169 1.4
to watch
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

play the game infinitive
played the game past
played the game past participle
playing the game present participle
plays the game third person singular

Morphology

play + the + game

The meaning 'to take part in a competitive activity (typically according to rules)' is directly derivable from combining 'play' (to participate) with 'the game' (the contest); the definite article does not obscure the compositional meaning. This is a straightforward verb + noun phrase pattern that is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Play the game comes from sports and children's games: to play a game you must join in, follow the rules and try to win. So, saying play the game now means 'to take part in a competition or situation and accept its rules and ways of doing things'.