play.
To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
Meaning & usage
To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
The children played in the park.
To toy or trifle; to act with levity or thoughtlessness; to be careless.
Don't play with your food!
He's just playing with her affections.
To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
He plays on three teams.
Who's playing now?
To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game). Specifying a particular sporting role or position.
He plays left back for Mudchester Rovers
To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game). To compete against, in a game.
We're playing one of the top teams in the next round.
To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game). To be the opposing score to.
Look at the score now ... 23 plays 8!
To contend or fight using weapons, both as practice or in real life-or-death combats; to engage in martial games; to joust; to fence
To act or behave in a stated way.
to play safe, to play fair, to play dirty
To act or behave in a stated way. To give a false appearance of being; to pretend to be.
He plays dumb, but actually he's very clever.
Don't play the innocent with us.
To act as (the indicated role).
Stop playing the fool.
No part of the brain plays the role of permanent memory.
To act as (the indicated role). To portray (a character) in (a film or theatre).
Who played Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone with the Wind'?
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To produce music using a musical instrument.
I'll play the piano and you sing.
Can you play an instrument?
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To produce music.
This piano plays out of tune.
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To operate (a device or media) so as to cause sound (especially music) or moving pictures to be produced.
You can play the DVD now.
Don't play your radio so loud!
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To render (a musical title, compositional style, film title, etc.) using a musical instrument or device.
Do you know how to play Für Elise on the piano?
We especially like to play jazz together.
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To emit or relay sound (especially music) or moving pictures; (of a device) to operate media.
The juke box is playing our favourite song.
The radio was playing in the background.
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To be performed, reproduced, or shown.
His latest film is playing in the local theatre tomorrow.
Some kind of lounge music was playing in the background.
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To perform or give performances in or at (a venue or location).
The band is playing large arenas nationwide.
To produce sound (especially music), moving pictures, or theatrical performance. To act or perform (a play).
to play a comedy
To move briskly, sweepingly, back and forth, in a directed manner, etc. To move in a light or brisk manner.
The fountain plays.
The leaves played in the wind.
To move briskly, sweepingly, back and forth, in a directed manner, etc. To move so as to fall upon or sweep across something, or to direct or operate (something) in such a manner.
The torch beam played around the room.
They played the jet of water onto the seat of the fire.
To move briskly, sweepingly, back and forth, in a directed manner, etc. To move in an alternating or reciprocal manner; to move to and fro.
To bring into action or motion; to exhibit in action; to execute or deploy.
That was a great shot he played!
He played the blue ball, but the green would have been a better choice.
To handle or deal with (a matter or situation) in a stated way.
The bank robbers have three hostages inside, so we're going to have to play this very carefully.
To handle or deal with (something) in a calculating manner intended to achieve profit or gain.
He made a fortune on Wall Street, playing the markets.
In this business you have to play the percentages.
To be received or accepted (in a given way); to go down.
This policy plays well with younger voters.
How will this play in the swing states?
To gamble.
To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it.
To manipulate, deceive, or swindle.
You played me!
To kid; to joke; to say something for amusement; to act, or to treat something, unseriously.
They don't play with the rules around here.
To take part in amorous activity; to make love; see also play around.
For additional senses in various idiomatic phrases, see the individual entries, such as play along, play at, play down, play off, play on, play out, play to, play up, etc.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *plehan Old English pleġan Proto-West Germanic *plegō Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-West Germanic *-ōn Proto-West Germanic *plegōn Old English plegian Middle English pleyen Proto-West Germanic *plegō Old English plega Middle English pleye English play From Middle English pleyen (verb) and Middle English pleye (noun), from Old English plegian and plegan, plagian (“to play, exercise, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *plehan (“to care about, be concerned with”) and Proto-West Germanic *plegōn (“to engage, move”), of uncertain origin. cognates and related terms Cognate with Scots play (“to act or move briskly, cause to move, stir”), Saterland Frisian pleegje (“to look after, care for, maintain”), West Frisian pleegje, pliigje (“to commit, perform, bedrive”), Middle Dutch pleyen ("to dance, leap for joy, rejoice, be glad"; compare Modern Dutch pleien (“to play a particular children's game”)), Dutch plegen (“to commit, bedrive, practice”), German pflegen (“to care for, be concerned with, attend to, tend”). Related also to Old English plēon (“to risk, endanger”). More at plight, pledge. The noun is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, plega, plæġa (“play, quick motion, movement, exercise; (athletic) sport, game; festivity, drama; battle; gear for games, an implement for a game; clapping with the hands, applause”), deverbative of plegian (“to play”); see above.
Activity for amusement only, especially among the young.
Children learn through play.
Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.
This kind of play helps the young lion cubs develop their hunting skills.
The conduct, or course, of a game.
Play was very slow in the first half.
After the rain break, play resumed at 3 o'clock.
The sphere or circumstance in which a playing implement, such as a ball, is played or available to be played (see also in play, out of play).
In potting the yellow ball, he's knocked the green into play.
When a chess piece is captured, it is removed from play.
An individual's performance in a sport or game.
His play has improved a lot this season.
A short sequence of action within a game.
That was a great play by the Mudchester Rovers forward.
A short sequence of action within a game. An action carried out when it is one's turn to play.
A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.
This book contains all of Shakespeare's plays.
A theatrical performance featuring actors.
We saw a two-act play in the theatre.
My kids are acting in the school play this Christmas.
An attempt to move forward, as in a plan or strategy, for example by a business, investor, or political party.
ABC Widgets makes a play in the bicycle market with its bid to take over Acme Sprockets.
Turpin signals the Metric Party's long-term play for housing reform
A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.
Movement (of a pattern of light etc.)
the play of light and shadow across the boy's face
Freedom to move.
Freedom to move. The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely, as for example lash, backlash, or slack.
No wonder the fanbelt is slipping: there’s too much play in it.
Too much play in a steering wheel may be dangerous.
Sexual activity or sexual role-playing.
petplay
An instance of watching or listening to media.
That video of my cat falling off the piano has had ten thousand plays.
An instance or instances of causing media to be watched or heard, such as by broadcasting.
Their single got a play on the radio.
The song got a lot of play in the clubs.
A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.
press play
An instance of wordplay.
The name Wiktionary is a play on the words wiki and dictionary.
Activity relating to martial combat or fighting.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *plehan Old English pleġan Proto-West Germanic *plegō Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-West Germanic *-ōn Proto-West Germanic *plegōn Old English plegian Middle English pleyen Proto-West Germanic *plegō Old English plega Middle English pleye English play From Middle English pleyen (verb) and Middle English pleye (noun), from Old English plegian and plegan, plagian (“to play, exercise, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *plehan (“to care about, be concerned with”) and Proto-West Germanic *plegōn (“to engage, move”), of uncertain origin. cognates and related terms Cognate with Scots play (“to act or move briskly, cause to move, stir”), Saterland Frisian pleegje (“to look after, care for, maintain”), West Frisian pleegje, pliigje (“to commit, perform, bedrive”), Middle Dutch pleyen ("to dance, leap for joy, rejoice, be glad"; compare Modern Dutch pleien (“to play a particular children's game”)), Dutch plegen (“to commit, bedrive, practice”), German pflegen (“to care for, be concerned with, attend to, tend”). Related also to Old English plēon (“to risk, endanger”). More at plight, pledge. The noun is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, plega, plæġa (“play, quick motion, movement, exercise; (athletic) sport, game; festivity, drama; battle; gear for games, an implement for a game; clapping with the hands, applause”), deverbative of plegian (“to play”); see above.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.