Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

play politics

Idioms  
  1. Act for personal or political gain rather than principle, as in I don't think this judge is fair—he's playing politics. [Mid-1800s]


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:

“We know what our job is,” Moriarity said, “it’s not to play politics, but to ensure a thorough investigation, seek justice and to be fair to all involved, and we are committed to doing that.”

From Salon Jan. 9, 2026

Their leader Jane Dodds said her deal to pass the Welsh government's budget last month showed she would not "play politics" with people's lives.

From BBC Apr. 4, 2025

She said in a statement, “We are not here to play politics with people’s lives — we are here to pass transformative policies.”

From Seattle Times Aug. 23, 2021

“It shouldn’t be an effort of the one side to play politics with the presidential election. We’re all in this fight together to protect the health and safety of the American people.”

From New York Times Mar. 4, 2020

You and I both have heard your grandfather say many times that he'd like to play politics with angels—if only he could find the angels.

From The Ramrodders A Novel by Holman Day

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training