playground

American  

[pley-ground] / ˈpleɪˌgraʊnd /

noun

playgrounds plural

1. an area used for outdoor play or recreation, especially by children, and often containing recreational equipment such as slides and swings.

2. Informal. any place, environment, or facility used for recreation or amusement, as a resort.

   The tropical island is an international playground for the rich.

3. an arena of operation or activity.

---

playground British  

/ ˈpleɪˌɡraʊnd /

noun

1. an outdoor area for children's play, esp one having swings, slides, etc, or adjoining a school

2. a place or region particularly popular as a sports or holiday resort

3. a sphere of activity

   reading was his private playground

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• playgrounds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of playground

First recorded in 1770–80; play + ground ¹

Explanation

A playground is a place to frolic and play. Most kids know where the nearest playground is because that’s where the swings and slides are. Neighborhoods and schools usually have a playground. Weeeeee! A playground built especially for kids has equipment for them to play on, like climbing structures, swings, seesaws, and play houses. Many public parks have this kind of playground. When adults talk about their favorite playgrounds, they usually mean a place they go to do the sports or activities they love. A nearby mountain, for example, could be described as a playground for snow boarders.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

playground playgrounds

The longest he disappears for at the championships is 12 hours, said Davis, adding: "It is his playground, I mean, he pretty much fledged here at 18 weeks old."

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

At one Paris school on Tuesday, parents taped survival blankets to windows to lower the temperature inside and pooled their money to buy shades for the playground.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

To outsiders, Nantucket can seem like a faraway, rich-person’s playground, full of yacht-packed marinas, six-figure golf-club memberships and $300 seafood towers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

At 10:30 a.m., the bell rings through the halls of William F. Prisk Elementary School in Long Beach, sending students racing onto the playground, throwing basketballs, doing cartwheels, gliding down slides.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

He could remember seeing someone like her—it?—chatting occasionally with Nurse Beverly while Max and Josie scrambled over playground equipment and climbed trees in the park.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Cities should build and preserve libraries, parks, playgrounds, walkable streets and mixed-use spaces as amenities and places where low-stakes contact can happen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

By 1949, Noguchi had completed an astonishing range of commissions—murals, architecture, parks, playgrounds, memorials, industrial designs and scenography.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

The new parks and playgrounds now scattered across the city "are really important for people's mental health".

From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026

The administration office, playgrounds and other parts of the complex remain closed until further notice.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

I watched them like I’d seen mothers do at playgrounds, with the same mixture of pride and loneliness.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Related Words

• park