toy with
Idioms-
Amuse oneself idly with, trifle, as in He teased her, toying with her as a cat toys with a mouse . [Early 1500s]
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Treat casually or without seriousness, as in I'm toying with the idea of writing a novel . [Early 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.
They were ready to be toyed with and shocked, and when the film got going, their oversized reactions kept me entertained even when the film couldn’t.
From Salon
Stella's Gingerbread house plushie is an "Amuseable", a line of toys with tiny faces modelled on inanimate objects from toilet rolls to boiled eggs.
From BBC
The story toys with paranoia and the power of perspective.
From Los Angeles Times
The NYSE-based breadth oscillator has toyed with a sell signal over the past week, but has not been able to sustain one.
From MarketWatch
They even debuted a new song, “Internet Girl,” which toys with their growing amount of online fame over a pop-punk production style.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
