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play along

verb

  1. to cooperate (with), esp as a temporary measure

  2. (tr) to manipulate as if in a game, esp for one's own advantage

    he played the widow along until she gave him her money

“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


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Idioms and Phrases

Cooperate or pretend to cooperate, as in They decided to play along with the robbers, at least for a while. [Colloquial; 1920s]
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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.

The Trojans are 5-1 in a new era where even two-loss teams can qualify and, OK, just play along here for a sec.

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Colbert started playing along by unbuttoning his blazer and saying “f— that” to a signal that he only had a minute left in the segment.

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I decided to play along with Syndicate after taking advice from a senior BBC editor.

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At a recent House hearing, Mr Discaya admitted to paying kickbacks to lawmakers - "We couldn't do anything but play along with them" - but the Congressmen disputed his allegation.

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And America’s largest institutions, from its sports leagues to its universities, play along with this farce in the name of national unity.

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