play around ( also play about British English ) phrasal verb ( see also ↑ play )
1 . to have a sexual relationship with someone who is not your usual partner
play around with
Wasn’t she playing around with another man?
It was years before I realized he’d been playing around.
2 . to try doing something in different ways, to see what would be best, especially when this is fun
play around with
Play around with the ingredients if you like.
3 . to behave in a silly way or waste time, when you should be doing something more serious SYN fool around :
When the teacher wasn’t looking, we used to play about a lot.