play around

Idioms

Act playfully or irresponsibly, especially in having a casual or extramarital sexual relationship. For example, She got tired of his playing around and filed for divorce. [1920s]

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.

Throughout his career, Soderbergh has sought out new technology and filmmaking techniques to play around with, lending his work an exciting sandbox quality where anything goes.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

In a break in play around the half-hour mark, Mikey Moore, exciting, dangerous and 18 years old, juggled the ball around the halfway line.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

And she advises her to play around with online retirement-planning tools to stress-test scenarios such as a job loss, health events and living to 100.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

It’s fun to just play around in the sandbox and experiment and stumble upon something.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2025

“Do they play around here? We should go see them.”

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023