play the game

Idioms  

1. Behave according to accepted customs, obey the rules. For example, Not every foreign company can be counted on to play the game. The game here alludes to a sport with a set of rules. [Late 1800s] Also see play games.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

play the game

It is why the Lakers play the game, Redick mused, and it is the standard this organization has set.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

And he quotes Warren Buffett, who once said: ”If past history was all that is needed to play the game of money, the richest people would be librarians.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

“I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Gamers buy licences to play the game -- licences that can be withdrawn.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

“I am leaving!” he announced curtly, with the bearing of a Russian count, informing Fischer and Schmid that he was going to the stage to play the game there.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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Related Words

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• revise
• shape
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