Etimology
From Middle English pleyen, playen, pleȝen, plæien, also Middle English plaȝen, plawen (compare English plaw), from Old English pleġan, pleoġan, plæġan, and Old English plegian, pleagian, plagian (“to play, exercise, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *plehan (“to care about, be concerned with”) and Proto-West Germanic *plegōn (“to engage, move”); both perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *blek- (“to move, move about”), from Proto-Indo-European *bal- (compare Ancient Greek βλύω (blúō), βλύζω (blúzō, “I gush out, spring”), Sanskrit बल्बलीति (balbalīti, “it whirls, twirls”)).
verb
play (third-person singular simple present plays, present participle playing, simple past and past participle played)
(intransitive) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
(transitive, intransitive) To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
(intransitive) To take part in amorous activity; to make love.
To gamble.
(transitive) To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance.
(multiple senses, transitive, intransitive) To produce music or theatre.
(multiple senses) To behave in a particular way.
(transitive, intransitive) To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate.
(intransitive) To move to and fro.
(transitive) To put in action or motion.
(transitive) To keep in play, as a hooked fish in order to land it.
(transitive, colloquial) To manipulate, deceive, or swindle someone.
Examples
They played long and hard.
A youngster […] listed some of the things his pet did not do: […] go on vacation, play in the same way that he did with his friends, and so on.
We had to play for an hour, so that meant that we didn't have time to play and joke around.
Hypernym: try
Hyponym: replay
He plays on three teams
Who's playing now?
play football
play sports
play games
We're playing one of the top teams in the next round.
England will not be catapulted among the favourites for Euro 2012 as a result of this win, but no victory against Spain is earned easily and it is right they take great heart from their efforts as they now prepare to play Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday.
Look at the score now ... 23 plays 8!
Synonyms: get it on, make out, have sex; see also Thesaurus:copulate
Her proper face I not descerned in that darkesome shade, But weend it was my loue, with whom he playd.
“I play, comparatively, very little; I don't drink a fifth part so much as half the people I live with; and I reckon myself, upon the whole, a very orderly, sober fellow.”
He plays the King, and she’s the Queen.
No part of the brain plays the role of permanent memory.
I'm not a doctor, but I do play one on TV.
In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
An opening sequence, featuring a de-aged Ford playing a younger Indy, is a bold and nostalgic gambit, offering a glimpse of what you've missed.
Synonyms: cook, jam; see also Thesaurus:play music
If your guitar plays well on fretted strings but annoys you on the open ones, the nut's probably worn out.
I've practiced the piano off and on, but I still can't play very well.
I'll play the piano and you sing.
Can you play an instrument?
We especially like to play jazz together.
Play a song for me.
Do you know how to play Für Elise?
My son thinks he can play music.
You can play the DVD now.
His latest film is playing in the local theatre tomorrow.
I got a hold of Louis Armstrong's agent and I explained to him on the phone that, "I know you're playing London on Wednesday night. Why don't you come and play the Arena in Windsor on Saturday night?"
to play a comedy
Thou canst play the rational if thou wilt.
Playing hard to get is not the same as slamming the door in someone's face.
Now, surveying his final link, he had the nice advantage of being able to play coy with established port cities that desperately wanted his proven railroad.
Instead, they played dumb, remained silent, and did their classwork.
Thus Men are apt to play with their Healths and their Lives as they do with their Cloaths: [...]
His mother played false with a smith.
to play tricks
Nature here Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will Her virgin fancies.
The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
He grew serious. “Sorry, E.M. Just fucking around.”“Well, I don’t play like that and you know it.”
The fountain plays.
He played the torch beam around the room.
The heart beats, the blood circulates, the lungs play.
The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it.
The Poet and the PainterCasting shadows on the waterAs the sun plays on the infantryReturning from the sea.
the waving sedges play with wind
The setting sun Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.
All fame is foreign but of true desert, Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.
to play cannon upon a fortification
to play a trump in a card game
Synonym: defraud
You played me!
If this our song, you're the composer I'm not a game, but you play me anyway
noun
play (countable and uncountable, plural plays)
(uncountable, formerly countable) Activity for amusement only, especially among the young.
(uncountable) Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.
(uncountable) The conduct, or course, of a game.
(uncountable) An individual's performance in a sport or game.
(countable) A short sequence of action within a game.
(countable, turn-based games) An action carried out when it is one's turn to play.
(countable) A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.
(countable) A theatrical performance featuring actors.
(countable) An attempt to move forward, as in a plan or strategy, for example by a business, investor, or political party.
(countable) A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.
(uncountable) Movement (of a pattern of light etc.)
(uncountable) The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely, as for example lash, backlash, or slack.
(uncountable, informal) Sexual activity or sexual role-playing.
(countable) An instance of watching or listening to digital media.
(countable) A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.
(archaic, now usually in compounds) Activity relating to martial combat or fighting.
Examples
Children learn through play.
She was fond of all boys' plays, and greatly preferred cricket […] to dolls […]
You know, when I was around 7-11 years old, my favorite play would be "boys." One of us, Bridget, Maryellen, or I, would say "Let's play boys." We all had boy names, set up the pretend surroundings, and acted like boys.
This kind of play helps the young lion cubs develop their hunting skills.
Play was very slow in the first half.
After the rain break, play resumed at 3 o'clock.
The game was abandoned after 20 minutes' play
His play has improved a lot this season.
That was a great play by the Mudchester Rovers forward.
Synonym: move
AWARD is better than either WARED or WADER. However, there's an even better play! If you have looked at the two-to-make-three letter list, you may have noticed the word AWA.
Synonyms: drama; see also Thesaurus:drama
This book contains all of Shakespeare's plays.
We saw a two-act play in the theatre.
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
the play of light and shadow across the boy's face
the sum of mental and physical phenomena known by the conventional name “person” or “individual” is not at all the mere play of blind chance.
No wonder the fanbelt is slipping: there’s too much play in it.
Too much play in a steering wheel may be dangerous.
The rarity of male domination in fantasy play is readily explained.
Palm Springs M seeks sane F 4 safe bdsm play
There were none of the usual restrictions on public nudity or sexual interaction in the club environment. Still, the night was young, and as he'd made his way to the bar to order Mistress Ramona a gin and tonic, he'd seen little in the way of play.
This type of play allows some people to relax and enjoy being given pleasure without having to think about giving pleasure back at the same time.
Synonyms: view, listen
The most-streamed artist of the year was British singer Ed Sheeran, who amassed 860 million plays with hits like “I See Fire.”
handplay, swordplay