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plaything

American  
[play-thing] / ˈpleɪˌθɪŋ /

noun

  1. a thing to play with; toy.

  2. a person who is used capriciously and selfishly by another.


plaything British  
/ ˈpleɪˌθɪŋ /

noun

  1. a toy

  2. a person regarded or treated as a toy

    he thinks she is just his plaything

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of plaything

First recorded in 1665–75; play + thing 1


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Autos were no longer a “devilish plaything of the gilded class,” Mr. Moskowitz tells us.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

"Both the Royal Family and the governments of England and Wales have other things to think about, which are rather more pressing and important than a child's plaything," said Dr Jones.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025

Famously, he set a Barbie doll on fire to protest Greta Gerwig’s movie portraying the doll as a woman with agency, rather than a passive plaything.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2025

Here at the Walker Art Center, a weighty and ambitious exhibition reorients American audiences toward a generation of artists, writers and musicians for whom free expression was no plaything and no luxury.

From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2024

It had never occurred to him until then to think that literature was the best plaything that had ever been invented to make fun of people, as Alvaro demonstrated during one night of revels.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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