INDEX:
1. an activity played by rules that you do for enjoyment
2. an occasion when people compete against each other in a game
3. to play a game
4. someone who plays a game
5. when children play games
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ COMPETITION
↑ SPORT/GAME
↑ GAMBLING
↑ SCORE
↑ BEAT/DEFEAT
↑ WIN
↑ LOSE
↑ PLAY A GAME OR SPORT
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1. an activity played by rules that you do for enjoyment
▷ game /geɪm/ [countable noun]
an activity that you do for enjoyment, and that you play according to a set of rules :
▪ Chess is such a difficult game.
▪ Have you ever played Mah Jong? It’s a Chinese game.
▪ The women set up bingo games and bake sales to raise money for the charity.
the game of football/basketball/tennis
▪ The game of golf was invented in Scotland.
▪ Chadwick suggested that baseball evolved from the English game of rounders.
the national game
the most popular game in a country
▪ In Wales, rugby is the national game.
computer game
▪ About 7 million households have people who play computer games.
▪ ‘Psychic Detective’ is a CD-ROM computer game from Electronic Arts Studios.
card game
a game you play using a set of playing cards
▪ I’m not very good at card games.
▪ Harvey has devised a Spanish-English language card game.
board game
a game played on a board with pieces of wood, plastic etc that you move around
▪ board games like Monopoly and Ludo
2. an occasion when people compete against each other in a game
▷ game /geɪm/ [countable noun]
an occasion when two people or two teams compete against each other in a game or sport :
▪ Sharpe had injured a knee in a football game a few weeks earlier
a game of chess/soccer/darts etc
▪ Would you be up for a game of darts at the local pub?
▪ We played three games of checkers, and she beat me every time.
best/worst/first etc game of the season
▪ We were able to get seats for the last game of the season.
▷ match /mætʃ/ [countable noun]
an occasion when two people or teams compete against each other in a sport or game - used especially about soccer, rugby, cricket, tennis, or chess :
▪ Chess experts expected Kadparov to win the next match.
football/cricket/boxing etc match
▪ A cricket match was in progress on the school sports field.
▪ Keith sprained his wrist in a wrestling match.
▷ event /ɪˈvent/ [countable noun]
a match or competition, especially one that is important and is attended by a lot of people :
▪ Tomorrow’s match against Portugal is expected to be the big event of the season.
sporting event
▪ John rarely misses a sporting event in his town.
▪ Wimbledon is one of Britain’s great sporting events.
3. to play a game
▷ play /pleɪ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
▪ I used to play tennis all the time.
▪ Do you know how to play backgammon?
▪ Ask Alex if he wants to play.
play for somebody
▪ Sweet Lou played for the Detroit Tigers.
play somebody/play against somebody
▪ ‘They played well against us,’ Cooper said, ‘I have to give them credit.’
▷ give somebody a game /ˌgɪv somebody ə ˈgeɪm/ [noun phrase] British
to play a game against someone, especially when it is not a serious or important game :
▪ I’ll give you a game of chess if you want.
▪ No one wants to give him a game because he’s too good.
4. someone who plays a game
▷ player /ˈpleɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
▪ a game for four players
▪ Rodriguez was voted Player of the Year.
good player
good at playing a game
▪ I like chess, even though I’m not a very good player.
▪ Wikerson is not as good a player as Phillips.
▷ opponent /əˈpəʊnənt/ [countable noun]
someone who plays against another person in a game :
▪ Brownlee regards Reaney as his most difficult opponent.
▪ My opponent was much older than I was.
▷ team /tiːm/ [countable noun]
a group of people who play against another group in a game :
▪ You’re the best person on the team.
▪ Pub quiz teams often have really silly names.
team captain/manager etc
▪ Nasser Hussain, the England team captain, was injured in the game against the West Indies.
5. when children play games
▷ play /pleɪ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
if children play, they do things they enjoy, either together in a group, or with their toys :
▪ This is the schoolground where we played as children.
▪ We played card games and hide-and-seek.
play with
▪ Ian was upstairs playing with his new train set.
▪ Jimmy was playing with a little boat in the bathtub.
play at something
British play a game in which you pretend to be someone
▪ We used to play at cops and robbers.