play with
Britishverb
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to consider without giving deep thought to or coming to a conclusion concerning
we're playing with the idea of emigrating
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to behave carelessly with
to play with a girl's affections
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to fiddle or mess about with
he's just playing with his food
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 truth of “SNL” is that there’s no way to really know for sure if it will play with an audience until the sketch gets in front of one.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
Anyone can play with these numbers at their leisure.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
If LJ is confident, then that is what we want, because we want her to enjoy herself, to play with freedom.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
He has signed to play with the independent Long Island Ducks this year.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
To help the boy overcome these self-defeating tendencies, Collins ordered a clock from Germany with a special ten-second timer, and he insisted that Bobby play with it to practice thinking and moving more rapidly.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
