game
1 Americannoun
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games
plural
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an amusement or pastime.
children's games.
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the material or equipment used in playing certain games.
The store started selling toys and games.
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a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators.
Flag football is a game growing in popularity.
- Synonyms:
- competition, contest, sport
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a single occasion of such an activity, or a definite portion of one.
the final game of the season;
a rubber of three games at bridge.
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the number of points required to win a game.
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the score at a particular stage in a game.
With five minutes to play, the game was 7 to 0.
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a particular manner or style of playing a game.
Her game of chess is improving.
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anything resembling a game, as in requiring skill, endurance, or adherence to rules.
She's an expert at the game of diplomacy.
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a trick or strategy.
They can see through your game.
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something treated lightly or lacking in seriousness; sport.
That's enough of your games!
When I was young, love was just a game to me.
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wild animals, including birds and fishes, such as those hunted for food or taken for sport or profit.
The area is particularly rich in game.
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the flesh of such wild animals, used as food.
The cook made a dish of game.
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any object of pursuit, attack, abuse, etc..
The new boy at school seemed to be fair game for practical jokers.
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Informal. a business or profession.
He's in the real-estate game.
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Informal. the ability to attract or charm romantic or sexual partners.
He's got no game—hasn't had a date in months.
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Archaic. fighting spirit; pluck.
adjective
verb (used without object)
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games,
present (3rd person singular)
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gamed,
past participle, past
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gaming
present participle
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to play games of chance for stakes; gamble.
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Digital Technology. to play computer or video games.
verb (used with object)
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games,
present (3rd person singular)
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gamed,
past participle, past
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gaming
present participle
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to squander in games of chance (usually followed byaway ).
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to manipulate to one's advantage, especially by trickery; attempt to take advantage of.
The policy is flawed and many people try to game the system.
idioms
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off one’s game,
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Sports. playing badly.
You can tell the pitcher's off his game—he's walked three batters in a row.
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not performing as well as usual.
The showrunner and her writers are off their game, and episodes this season drag on without the humor and lightness fans had come to expect.
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play games, to act in an evasive, deceitful, manipulative, or trifling manner in dealing with others.
Don't play games with me—I want to know if you love me or not!
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play the game,
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to act or play in accordance with the rules.
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to act honorably or justly.
We naively assumed that our allies would continue to play the game.
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die game,
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to die after a brave struggle.
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to remain steadfast or in good spirits at the moment of defeat.
He knew that as a candidate he didn't have a chance in the world, but he campaigned anyway and died game.
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make game of, to make fun of; ridicule.
It's cruel to make game of the weak and defenseless.
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on one’s game,
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Sports. playing well.
You need to recruit experienced players who will be on their game coming straight off the bench.
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performing well, or as well as usual.
She’s been noticeably sharper and really on her game since she came back from vacation.
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talk a big / good game, to make exaggerated claims or promise extraordinary results.
The PR team talks a big game, but revenue for their department has been flat for three years running.
adjective
noun
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an amusement or pastime; diversion
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a contest with rules, the result being determined by skill, strength, or chance
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a single period of play in such a contest, sport, etc
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the score needed to win a contest
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a single contest in a series; match
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(plural; often capital) an event consisting of various sporting contests, esp in athletics
Olympic Games
Highland Games
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equipment needed for playing certain games
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short for computer game
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style or ability in playing a game
he is a keen player but his game is not good
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a scheme, proceeding, etc, practised like a game
the game of politics
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an activity undertaken in a spirit of levity; joke
marriage is just a game to him
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wild animals, including birds and fish, hunted for sport, food, or profit
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( as modifier )
game laws
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the flesh of such animals, used as food: generally taken not to include fish
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an object of pursuit; quarry; prey (esp in the phrase fair game )
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informal work or occupation
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informal a trick, strategy, or device
I can see through your little game
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obsolete pluck or courage; bravery
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slang prostitution (esp in the phrase on the game )
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to reveal one's intentions or a secret
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to make fun of; ridicule; mock
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playing badly
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playing well
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to behave fairly or in accordance with rules
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there is no longer a chance of success
adjective
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informal full of fighting spirit; plucky; brave
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informal extremely brave; indomitable
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informal (usually foll by for) prepared or ready; willing
I'm game for a try
verb
adjective
Usage
What does game mean? A game is an activity for amusement, particularly with rules that guide the action, like musical chairs. A game is also the materials needed to play certain games, such as a checkerboard and disks for playing checkers. A game is also a competitive activity, like football, or a single occasion of the activity. To game is to play computer or video games or to gamble. To game is used figuratively to mean to cheat or manipulate to one’s advantage. Example: I have never been to a game that was this slow and boring.
Synonym Usage
See play.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gamesimple
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gamessimple
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have gamedperfect
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has gamedperfect
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am gamingprogressive
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are gamingprogressive
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is gamingprogressive
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have been gamingperfect progressive
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has been gamingperfect progressive
Past
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gamedsimple
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had gamedperfect
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was gamingprogressive
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were gamingprogressive
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had been gamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of game1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun game, gam, gamme “joy; pleasure; sport; hunting,” Old English gaman, gomen; cognate with Old High German gaman “glee”
Origin of game2
First recorded in 1775–85; origin uncertain
Explanation
A game is a contest or pastime. Football, checkers, Monopoly, volleyball, Ms. Pacman — they're all fun games to play. Some games are simple, like Connect Four or Tic Tac Toe. Others are played for millions of dollars, like professional basketball. Games usually have winners and losers, and people play them because they're fun. Other meanings of this word have less to do with playing: If you're a salesperson, you could say you're in the sales game. Wild animals that you hunt and eat are called game. And being game can mean you have disabled feet or legs.
Vocabulary lists containing game
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:
The game ended 17 minutes before midnight thanks in part to several long deliberations by the officiating crew.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
These types of specific accomplishments can be game changers on your resume, because they help show your positive impact on a company during your time there.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Of those full-backs to play a minimum of 900 minutes across the Premier League last season, Hall led the way for high-speed runs and underlapping runs per game.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
It took a crucial touchdown in a rivalry game to make the point, as Smith twisted his body, reached out with his left hand and hauled in the pass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
A few people were picking through garbage cans, and someone was sleeping on a bench, curled up tight, and there was an enthusiastic game of basketball echoing over from the newly refinished court.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
It was the NFL's first game in the Asia-Pacific region, and its longest-ever road trip for the first of a record nine international games in 2026.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The adults would engage in animated conversation, usually about current events, while we, the dozen or so kids, kept ourselves busy inventing games.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
In 2024, coaches in the Marine League decided to forfeit all games to the Gauchos in an attempt to convince the Los Angeles Unified School District to launch an investigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
“And then once I’m done with playing football, I can come to Ole Miss games and use that property and finally go to the Grove.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Even more privilege than you’ve ever imagined. Technology beyond your wildest dreams. I mean, we have time travel—you can be sure that the video games will be truly awesome!”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Meanwhile, crowded gamer fans surrounded Tencent’s exhibition booth area at ChinaJoy, one of the world’s biggest gaming conventions over the weekend, showing continued enthusiasm for its games, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
GameStop said Thursday that one gamer in Columbus, Ohio, visited one of its locations to trade in some of his old physical games for store credit.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
The gender split also defies the stereotypical image of the young male gamer.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
"There goes my hopes of ever getting an OLED," posted one disappointed gamer.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
With that and the day being kind of drizzly, nobody is out there except two gamer kids sitting on their raincoats stealthily playing Switch with their backs against the wall where teachers can’t see them.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
“He was one of the coolest, neatest, kindest, gamest horses I’ll ever have. When I saw him in there, my heart sank.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2017
Lots of good intentions and the gamest efforts of able leading actors, respectively Gary Oldman and Ed Harris, could not breathe life into those turkeys.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2010
Said Champion Tunney, ". . . one of the two gamest."
From Time Magazine Archive
Little Old Man Ledoux, gamest of the game.
From Time Magazine Archive
This gamest and most delicious of salt-water fish is noted for its strength, voracity, and grit.
From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Samuel Adams Drake
Here I thought he might have considered multiple courses of action, weighed pros and cons, gamed out costs and benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
But under a "worst-case scenario" gamed out by Eurasia Group, damage to Iran's oilfields permanently hits the country's exports, while the precarity to Hormuz traffic persists.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
However, SEC rules governing derivative-linked volatility could probably be gamed to a certain extent, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2025
I am playing a gamed called “Election Day” at Appleseed Avenue, a relatively new escape room in a multi-story strip mall in Newhall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
Eisman didn’t know exactly how the rating agencies had been gamed.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
It said it was incorrect to link union activities to the dismissal of 31 UK workers, most based at the gaming giant's Edinburgh headquarters, and three in Canada in October 2025.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Kwon founded Smilegate in 2002 and has built it into one of the most successful gaming companies in South Korea.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
In July, Microsoft said it would cut 3,200 jobs in its video game division, or about 20% of that staff, over the next year as the gaming industry continues to face a flagging landscape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“We are likely more positive than the market on the path of AI monetization, particularly through cloud revenue growth, gaming productivity gains and foundation-model adoption,” Daiwa says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The e-mailed stories ranged from suspensions and expulsions for “antisocial behavior” to censorship of student publications to new restrictions on computing, Web browsing, and especially gaming.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
