play

To act in a forceful and uncompromising manner to achieve one's goals.

• During the negotiation, they decided to play hardball, demanding an immediate agreement.

To be interested in many people or things, especially with the intention of having multiple romantic or sexual relationships.

• He enjoys playing the field and dating multiple people at the same time, not wanting to settle down with just one person.

To act strategically in order to gain an advantage or achieve success in a particular situation.

• If you play your cards right, you can achieve great success in this industry.

To behave in a foolish, idiotic, or irritating manner.

• Stop playing silly buggers; we don't have time for your nonsense.

To cooperate or agree to work with someone, often after initial reluctance or disagreement.

• After many negotiations, they finally agreed to play ball and collaborate on the project.

To act cautiously and avoid taking risks.

• To play it safe, I will leave ten minutes early, just in case.

To have a particular amount of time or money that is available for one's use.

• With a limited budget to play with, we need to spend the money wisely.

A humorous use of a word or phrase that exploits its multiple meanings or its similarity in sound to another word.

• The movie title is a play on words, using the similar sounds of 'sun' and 'son'.

To feign a lack of interest in someone to increase their desire, especially at the beginning of a romantic pursuit.

• She was very interested in him, but she played hard to get to get his attention.

To be in a subordinate or less important position compared to someone else.

• In that project, he had to play second fiddle as he lacked the necessary experience.

To become active or have an effect in a particular situation; to be put into use or action.

• When drafting new company policies, all relevant legal clauses must come into play.

To act in a just and honest manner, adhering to rules and principles of fairness.

• In business negotiations, integrity is paramount; it's crucial to play fair to establish long-lasting partnerships.

To feign death or sleep in order to avoid being bothered or attacked.

• When he realized he was being watched, he decided to play possum to escape danger.

To act in a fair and honest manner; to behave according to established rules or expectations.

• In business negotiations, playing the game honestly is crucial for building trust.

A vulgar expression used to tell someone to go away and stop being bothersome.

• You keep asking me the same questions, enough already! Go play with yourself!

To delay taking action in order to gain more time.

• When negotiations stalled, they tried to play for time, hoping to find a breakthrough.

To touch someone's feet with your own under a table, typically to show sexual interest or flirtation.

• During dinner, he started playing footsie with her under the table, and she giggled.

To cause serious damage, disruption, or problems for something; to have a severely negative impact on something.

• The storm played merry hell with the coastal areas.

To manipulate opposing parties into conflict to gain an advantage; to exploit a disagreement between two groups for personal benefit.

• He always tries to play both ends against the middle between the two competing companies to maximize his own benefit.

To attempt to deceive or manipulate someone through dishonest or underhanded tactics.

• Don't play games with me; I can see you're hiding something.

To behave in a calm and controlled manner, often to hide one's strong interest or desire for something.

• I tried to play it cool when she walked into the room, even though I really wanted to talk to her.

To behave as if one has complete control over a situation or other people's lives, often with an attitude of superiority or an overbearing manner.

• As a manager, she has a responsibility to lead the team, but she shouldn't try to play God and control everyone's lives.

To behave in a manner intended to gain the admiration or support of the public.

• The actor always likes to play to the gallery on stage, trying to win applause from the audience.

To proceed without a predetermined plan, adapting one's actions based on the unfolding circumstances.

• We are not sure how to proceed, so we will have to play it by ear.

To deceive or mislead someone, often in a playful or mischievous way; to trick or tease someone.

• His friends decided to play a trick on him at his birthday party by pretending they had forgotten about it.

To use the same methods that someone else uses, especially in order to gain an advantage over them.

• He's good at spreading rumors, so we decided to play him at his own game and let him experience being hurt by rumors.

To fully develop and utilize emotions or ideas to their maximum potential.

• This project allows the young scientists to give full play to their creativity.

To attempt to obtain something or to initiate a romantic relationship with someone, often through strategic efforts.

• She made a play for him by sending him gifts.

To proceed without a definite plan, adapting as circumstances require.

• We didn't book a hotel, so we're just going to play it by ear when we get there.

To express anger or frustration about someone's foolish or inexplicable actions.

• What were you playing at? You almost ruined the entire plan!

A rude and dismissive way of telling someone to go away and stop bothering you.

• You've been complaining non-stop, that's enough, go play with yourself!

To exploit the rules or procedures of a system in order to gain an unfair advantage.

• Many people try to play the system by finding loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

To continue playing until the referee stops the game by blowing the whistle; emphasizes the importance of not stopping prematurely based on perceived fouls or stoppages.

• Even if you think there should be a foul, you have to play to the whistle.