play for

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Take part for a particular reason, as in We're not playing for money, just for fun. A special usage of this idiom is play for laughs, that is, with the aim of arousing laughter.

play someone for. Manage someone for one's own ends, make a fool of, dupe or cheat. For example, I resent your playing me for a fool, or He suddenly found out she'd been playing him for a sucker. This usage employs play in the sense of “exhaust a hooked fish,” that is, manage it on the line so that it exhausts itself. [Mid-1600s]

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

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whom

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Words nearby play for

play fair, play false, play fast and loose, playfellow, play footsie, play for, play for keeps, play for laughs, play for time, playful, play games

How to use play for in a sentence

Have there been discussions with FX regarding an Archer movie, and how do you think that would play out?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He plays an aging punk rocker and I play the drummer from his old band.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

When fathers hold and play with their children, oxytocin and prolactin kick in, priming them for bonding.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I assure you, no matter how beautifully we play any piece, the minute Liszt plays it, you would scarcely recognize it!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
But I hope at least to play to him a few times, and what is more important, to hear him play repeatedly.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
To fill up the time till Liszt came, our hostess made us play, one after the other, beginning with the latest arrival.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Again the sallow fingers began to play with the book-covers, passing from one to another, but always slowly and gently.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
Her attachment to impressionism leads this artist to many experiments in color—or, as one critic wrote, "to play with color."
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement

play for

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How to use play for in a sentence