PLAY

Meaning of PLAY in English

n. 25B6; verb

the children played with toys : AMUSE ONESELF, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess about/around, lark (about/around); dated sport.

I used to play football : TAKE PART IN, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.

Liverpool play Oxford on Sunday : COMPETE AGAINST, take on, challenge, vie with.

he was to play Macbeth : ACT (THE PART OF), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform; formal personate.

he learned to play the flute : PERFORM ON, make music on; blow, sound.

the sunlight played on the water : DANCE, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.

25B6; noun

a balance between work and play : AMUSEMENT, entertainment, relaxation, recreation, diversion, distraction, leisure; enjoyment, pleasure, fun, games, fun and games; horseplay, merrymaking, revelry; informal living it up; dated sport.

a Shakespeare play : DRAMA, theatrical work; production, performance, show, sketch. See lists here and at Shakespeare .

she knew the play of the real world : ACTION, activity, operation, working, function; interaction, interplay.

there was a little play in the rope : MOVEMENT, slack, give; room to manoeuvre, scope, latitude.

25A0; play around (informal) WOMANIZE, philander, have affairs, flirt; informal carry on, mess about/around, play the field, sleep around; Brit. informal play away; N. Amer. informal fool around.

25A0; play at PRETEND TO BE, pass oneself off as, masquerade as, profess to be, pose as, impersonate; fake, feign, simulate, affect; N. Amer. informal make like.

25A0; play ball (informal) COOPERATE, collaborate, play the game, show willing, help, lend a hand, assist, contribute; informal pitch in.

25A0; play something down MAKE LIGHT OF, make little of, gloss over, de-emphasize, downplay, understate; soft-pedal, tone down, diminish, trivialize, underrate, underestimate, undervalue; disparage, belittle, scoff at, sneer at, shrug off; informal pooh-pooh.

25A0; play for time STALL, temporize, delay, hold back, hang fire, procrastinate, drag one's feet.

25A0; play it by ear IMPROVISE, extemporize, ad lib; make it up as one goes along, think on one's feet; informal busk it, wing it.

25A0; play on they play on our fears : EXPLOIT, take advantage of, use, turn to (one's) account, profit by, capitalize on, trade on, milk, abuse.

25A0; play the fool CLOWN ABOUT/AROUND, fool about/around, mess about/around, lark about/around, monkey about/around, joke; informal horse about/around, act the goat; Brit. informal muck about/around.

25A0; play the game PLAY FAIR, be fair, play by the rules, conform, be a good sport, toe the line.

25A0; play up (Brit. informal)

the boys really did play up : MISBEHAVE, be bad, be naughty, get up to mischief, be disobedient, cause trouble.

the boiler's playing up : MALFUNCTION, not work, be defective, be faulty; informal go on the blink, act up.

his leg was playing up : BE PAINFUL, hurt, ache, be sore, cause discomfort; informal kill someone, give someone gyp.

25A0; play something up EMPHASIZE, accentuate, call attention to, point up, underline, highlight, spotlight, foreground, feature, stress, accent.

25A0; play up to INGRATIATE ONESELF WITH, curry favour with, court, fawn over, make up to, keep someone sweet, toady to, crawl to, pander to, flatter; informal soft-soap, suck up to, butter up, lick someone's boots.

Types of Play and Drama