play hide and seek


Evade or seem to evade someone. For example, Bill is hard to pin down—he's always playing hide and seek. This expression alludes to the children's game in which one player tries to find others who are hiding. It has been used figuratively since the mid-1600s.

Words Nearby play hide and seek

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use play hide and seek in a sentence

  • It was far better sport to play hide-and-seek with the boys, for I enjoyed the use of my limbs—what there was of them.

    The Promised Land | Mary Antin
  • They are the gentlemen who used to get behind those documents to play hide-and-seek with the people whom they pretended to serve.

    The New Freedom | Woodrow Wilson
  • Collies may be taught to play hide-and-seek—a game they are very fond of.

  • "Yes, the two armies can't play hide-and-seek much longer," answered the young major.

    An Undivided Union | Oliver Optic
  • Here was where he, Cuthbert, and William would play hide-and-seek on wet days; and well he remembered each nook and lair.

    Ravenshoe | Henry Kingsley