word play
1
4.1
- noun
- /wɜrd pleɪ/
- Informal
:
juego de palabras
- Children often enjoy word play when they make up funny rhymes during playtime.
- word play activities
So you can kind of appreciate the word play here.
- So you can kind of appreciate the word play here.
- I ain't go to Harvard, so I don't comprehend your word play.
- But there was no culture of word play until hip hop came along.
- You can't follow up a story as insane as presidential candidate praises Hitler with fun word play about Eminem.
- Partially because things are nonsensical and inconsistent, and it's sort of built on word play more than, yeah, science, at least in some places.
- No, no, word play did not make us a millionaire.
- Or to put it another way, you aired Bud if you don't like word play.
- I'm going to shut every one of these people's moves and I'm going to say about it like doing word play on a serious crime.
- Yeah, everything dumbed down and shit is all about like you know about beats and vibe and feel like you know what I'm saying about like words or word play.
Examples
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The comedian's routine was filled with clever word play that made the audience laugh.
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When engaging in word play activities, encourage students to discuss their responses with a partner or in writing.
Academic text (2015) -
So you can kind of appreciate the word play here.
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Of all people, Europeans should know that this is ridiculous word play.
Blog text (3) -
But there was no culture of word play until hip hop came along.
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During word play, students say and hear words and their definitions; they also make decisions about whether and how words apply across diverse contexts, including their own lives.
Academic text (2015) -
There are several different kinds of word play activities; teachers might find that some illustrate word meaning for a particular set of words better than others.
Academic text (2015) -
Word play provides varied opportunities for students to interact with word meanings and to connect new words to those they already know (2, 3).
Academic text (2015) -
Prose poems use vivid images and word play, but are formatted like paragraphs.
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In her essay, she used word play to illustrate her points humorously.
Synonyms
14
6.0
Clever or funny use of words often with puns
1
7.0
Making jokes by using words that mean more than one thing or sound alike
1
9.9
Light playful talk that people use to make each other laugh
A clever use of words that sound alike to make a joke
Antonyms
How Witty
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'word play' is directly derivable from 'word' (units of language) + 'play' (playful activity), indicating a playful or clever use of words. This transparent noun compound follows common composition patterns and has clear parallels in many languages (e.g., Spanish 'juego de palabras'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Word play comes from the image of treating language like a game: the parts word and play show people moving words and sounds for 'fun'. That's why it means 'clever or funny use of language'.