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Fine Dictionary

play

pleɪ
WordNet
Man dressed up for the Passion Plays in Oberammergau, depicting Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
Man dressed up for the Passion Plays in Oberammergau, depicting Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
  1. (v) play
    engage in an activity as if it were a game rather than take it seriously "They played games on their opponents","play the stock market","play with her feelings","toy with an idea"
  2. (v) play
    pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind "He acted the idiot","She plays deaf when the news are bad"
  3. (v) play
    exhaust by allowing to pull on the line "play a hooked fish"
  4. (v) play
    consider not very seriously "He is trifling with her","She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania"
  5. (v) play
    participate in games or sport "We played hockey all afternoon","play cards","Pele played for the Brazilian teams in many important matches"
  6. (v) play
    contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle "Princeton plays Yale this weekend","Charlie likes to play Mary"
  7. (v) play
    employ in a game or in a specific position "They played him on first base"
  8. (v) play
    use or move "I had to play my queen"
  9. (v) play
    shoot or hit in a particular manner "She played a good backhand last night"
  10. (v) play
    bet or wager (money) "He played $20 on the new horse","She plays the races"
  11. (v) play
    put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game "He is playing his cards close to his chest","The Democrats still have some cards to play before they will concede the electoral victory"
  12. (v) play
    stake on the outcome of an issue "I bet $100 on that new horse","She played all her money on the dark horse"
  13. (v) play
    make bets "Play the races","play the casinos in Trouville"
  14. (v) play
    use to one's advantage "She plays on her clients' emotions"
  15. (v) play
    discharge or direct or be discharged or directed as if in a continuous stream "play water from a hose","The fountains played all day"
  16. (v) play
    manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination "She played nervously with her wedding ring","Don't fiddle with the screws","He played with the idea of running for the Senate"
  17. (v) play
    cause to happen or to occur as a consequence "I cannot work a miracle","wreak havoc","bring comments","play a joke","The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area"
  18. (v) play
    perform on a certain location "The prodigy played Carnegie Hall at the age of 16","She has been playing on Broadway for years"
  19. (v) play
    be performed or presented for public viewing "What's playing in the local movie theater?","`Cats' has been playing on Broadway for many years"
  20. (v) play
    cause to emit recorded audio or video "They ran the tapes over and over again","I'll play you my favorite record","He never tires of playing that video"
  21. (v) play
    emit recorded sound "The tape was playing for hours","the stereo was playing Beethoven when I entered"
  22. (v) play
    play a role or part "Gielgud played Hamlet","She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role","She played the servant to her husband's master"
  23. (v) play
    perform on a stage or theater "She acts in this play","He acted in `Julius Caesar'","I played in `A Christmas Carol'"
  24. (v) play
    pretend to be somebody in the framework of a game or playful activity "Let's play like I am mommy","Play cowboy and Indians"
  25. (v) play
    replay (as a melody) "Play it again, Sam","She played the third movement very beautifully"
  26. (v) play
    play on an instrument "The band played all night long"
  27. (v) play
    perform music on (a musical instrument) "He plays the flute","Can you play on this old recorder?"
  28. (v) play
    move or seem to move quickly, lightly, or irregularly "The spotlights played on the politicians"
  29. (v) play
    cause to move or operate freely within a bounded space "The engine has a wheel that is playing in a rack"
  30. (v) play
    act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome "This factor played only a minor part in his decision","This development played into her hands","I played no role in your dismissal"
  31. (v) play
    engage in recreational activities rather than work; occupy oneself in a diversion "On weekends I play","The students all recreate alike"
  32. (v) play
    be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children "The kids were playing outside all day","I used to play with trucks as a little girl"
  33. (v) play
    behave carelessly or indifferently "Play about with a young girl's affection"
  34. (v) play
    behave in a certain way "play safe","play it safe","play fair"
  35. (v) play
    be received or accepted or interpreted in a specific way "This speech didn't play well with the American public","His remarks played to the suspicions of the committee"
  36. (n) play
    the act using a sword (or other weapon) vigorously and skillfully
  37. (n) play
    the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize) "his gambling cost him a fortune","there was heavy play at the blackjack table"
  38. (n) play
    activity by children that is guided more by imagination than by fixed rules "Freud believed in the utility of play to a small child"
  39. (n) play
    (game) the activity of doing something in an agreed succession "it is my turn","it is still my play"
  40. (n) play
    gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement "it was all done in play","their frolic in the surf threatened to become ugly"
  41. (n) play
    a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill "he made a great maneuver","the runner was out on a play by the shortstop"
  42. (n) play
    a preset plan of action in team sports "the coach drew up the plays for her team"
  43. (n) play
    an attempt to get something "they made a futile play for power","he made a bid to gain attention"
  44. (n) play
    utilization or exercise "the play of the imagination"
  45. (n) play
    movement or space for movement "there was too much play in the steering wheel"
  46. (n) play
    verbal wit or mockery (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously) "he became a figure of fun","he said it in sport"
  47. (n) play
    a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage "he wrote several plays but only one was produced on Broadway"
  48. (n) play
    a theatrical performance of a drama "the play lasted two hours"
  49. (n) play
    a weak and tremulous light "the shimmer of colors on iridescent feathers","the play of light on the water"
  50. (n) play
    the removal of constraints "he gave free rein to his impulses","they gave full play to the artist's talent"
  51. (n) play
    a state in which action is feasible "the ball was still in play","insiders said the company's stock was in play"
  52. (n) play
    (in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds "rain stopped play in the 4th inning"
Illustrations
Assembly for the Passion Plays at Oberammergau, depicting the meeting of the Sanhedrin, where Judas receives thirty shekels
Photo reproduction of a print depicting the Crucifixion during the Passion Plays in Oberammergau
Display in front of the Passion Plays in Oberammergau, depicting the Last Supper
Interior of an inn or brothel with on the left, trik trawlers and spectators around a table, behind the table and in the middle several men and women seated. Some of the men have put their arms around a woman. On the right, a man is standing with a woman who is kneeling by a fireplace. In the foreground, a dog is sleeping next to a few bones. Several paintings hang on the walls, in the background is a bed.
Interior with people drinking and playing
A high-ranking courtesan talks to a young servant playing with a ball in the long corridor of a brothel. The 'noisy cricket and the butterfly' in the title refer to the girl playing loudly with her ball and the beautiful courtesan in a kimono with a butterfly pattern.
Courtesan looking at kamuro playing ball
Card-playing farmers around a table in an inn. In the foreground a rummer and a pitcher.
Men playing card
'Despicable love', perhaps the scene of the widower Joost at Lucia, second stage from the play of the same name by CJ van der Lijn. In an interior, an elderly man is courting a young woman. In the background a bird cage, a painting with a man's portrait and a standing watch.
'Despicable love', perhaps the scene of the widower Joost with Lucia, 2nd stage from the play of the same name by C.J.van der Lijn
In a landscape a group of putti plays blind man's man. To the left a statue on a pedestal of a seated woman, in the background a mountainous landscape with an obelisk.
Playing putti
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Interesting fact
Brazil is the only country to have played in every World Cup soccer tournament.
  1. Play
    A dramatic composition; a comedy or tragedy; a composition in which characters are represented by dialogue and action. "A play ought to be a just image of human nature."
  2. Play
    Amusement; sport; frolic; gambols.
  3. Play
    Any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement or diversion; a game. "John naturally loved rough play ."
  4. Play
    Motion; movement, regular or irregular; as, the play of a wheel or piston; hence, also, room for motion; free and easy action. "To give them play , front and rear.", "The joints are let exactly into one another, that they have no play between them."
  5. Play
    Performance on an instrument of music.
  6. Play
    To act on the stage; to personate a character. "A lord will hear your play to-night.", "Courts are theaters where some men play ."
  7. Play
    To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless. "“Nay,” quod this monk, “I have no lust to pleye .”", "Men are apt to play with their healths."
  8. Play
    To act; to behave; to practice deception. "His mother played false with a smith."
  9. Play
    To contend, or take part, in a game; as, to play ball; hence, to gamble; as, he played for heavy stakes.
  10. Play
    To engage in, or go together with, as a contest for amusement or for a wager or prize; as, to play a game at baseball.
  11. Play
    To keep in play, as a hooked fish, in order to land it.
  12. Play
    To move gayly; to wanton; to disport. "Even as 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."
  13. Play
    To perform music upon; as, to play the flute or the organ.
  14. Play
    To perform on an instrument of music; as, to play on a flute. "One that . . . can play well on an instrument.", "Play , my friend, and charm the charmer."
  15. Play
    To perform, as a piece of music, on an instrument; as, to play a waltz on the violin.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
Interesting fact
In Albany, New York, you cannot play golf in the streets.
  1. play
    To move lightly and quickly; move with a brisk, lively, and more or less irregular and capricious motion, as water in waves or in a fountain, light and shadow on agitated water, leaves in the wind, tremulous flames, etc.; flutter; flicker; dart; dance; in mech., to move freely.
  2. play
    To engage in active exercise; exercise or contend in any way, but especially with weapons; technically, to contend with swords or sticks; fence: said of persons.
  3. play
    To contend in a game of skill or chance: as, to play at chess or cards; specifically, to gamble.
  4. play
    To engage in exercise or occupation of any kind for diversion, amusement, or recreation; amuse one's self, as with games or diversion, or with any occupation which is not a task or for profit; sport; frolic; gambol.
  5. play
    To take part in a game or games; join in sport or frolic: as, to play with the children.
  6. play
    To act thoughtlessly or wantonly; trifle; toy; dally.
  7. play
    To act; behave; deal: as, to play fair or false.
  8. play
    To act on the stage; personate a character.
  9. play
    To perform on an instrument of music: as, to play on a flute or a violin.
  10. play
    To operate or act with continuous blows or strokes, or with repeated action: as, the cannon played on the enemy's works; the firemen played upon the burning building.
  11. play
    To give a humorous or fanciful turn to: as, to play upon words.
  12. play
    To play (music) more vigorously.
  13. play
    Synonyms To gambol, romp, caper, frisk.
  14. play
    To divert or amuse with or as with sports or pastimes: used reflexively.
  15. play
    To take part as a contestant in (a game or pastime engaged in at a particular time and place); also, to be in the habit of engaging in (a particular kind of game), be able to join in (it), or be skilled in (it): as, to play a rubber of whist; to play a round of golf; he does not play chess, but he can play billiards.
  16. play
    To engage in a game, contest, or competition with.
  17. play
    To put forward, move, throw, or lay on the table, etc., in carrying on a game or contest: as, play a swift ball: to play the knave of clubs.
  18. play
    To use as a plaything; trifle or fool with.
  19. play
    To manœuver; handle or play with, as a hooked fish in angling.
  20. play
    To produce music from; perform upon: as, to play the flute or the organ.
  21. play
    To perform on a musical instrument; execute: as, to play a tune.
  22. play
    To operate or cause to operate with continuous or repeated action; put into and keep in action: as, to play the hose on a burning building.
  23. play
    To give out or discharge freely: as, to play a steady stream.
  24. play
    To perform or act on the stage; represent in character with appropriate action and accessories: as, to play a comedy.
  25. play
    To take or assume the rôle of; act the part or perform the duties of; act or behave like: as, to play Hamlet; to play the tyrant; to play the hostess.
  26. play
    To do; operate; enact; perform: as, to play tricks; to play a part.
  27. play
    To use; apply; ply.
  28. play
    To make a pretense of; make believe: as, children play being devoured by lions.
  29. play
    Exhausted and brought to land or killed, as a fish that has been played.
  30. (n) play
    Brisk or free motion; movement, whether regular or irregular: as, the play of water in a fountain; the play of a wheel or piston; hence, freedom or room for motion.
  31. (n) play
    Liberty and room for action or display; scope; swing; ease or freedom in performance.
  32. (n) play
    Action; use; employment.
  33. (n) play
    Active exercise; especially, exercise in trial of skill: as, sword-play.
  34. (n) play
    Any exercise intended for recreation, amusement, or pleasure; a game or sport, such as cricket, foot-ball, curling, skittles, quoits, graces, etc.
  35. (n) play
    Amusement, diversion, recreation, or pastime; sport; frolic; fun; merry-making: as, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
  36. (n) play
    Fun; jest; sport: opposed to earnest: as, it was done in play.
  37. (n) play
    Gaming; the practice of contending for amusement, or for wager, as at dice, cards, billiards, etc.: as, to lose money at play.
  38. (n) play
    A dramatic composition; a literary composition in which characters are represented by dialogue and action; a written tragedy, comedy, or other such production intended for representation on the stage.
  39. (n) play
    Representation or exhibition of a comedy, tragedy, or other form of drama; dramatic performance.
  40. (n) play
    Style or manner of playing; style of performing or executing a play or game; execution; performance; skill: as, he made clever play with the foils.
  41. (n) play
    Manner of acting or dealing, or of treating another: as, fair play; foul play.
  42. (n) play
    A country wake.
  43. (n) play
    Pastime.
  44. play
    A variant of plaw.
  45. play
    To follow another successfully, with apparent sympathy, in his vein or mood from the theatrical use.
  46. play
    In base-ball, foot-ball, and similar games, to place (a player) in a certain position.
  47. play
    To accompany in action with music.
  48. (n) play
    A method or manner of performing on a musical instrument, especially as regards the action of the hands. See close play.
  49. (n) play
    The act or an act of playing (in a game); a separate act of playing.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
Interesting fact
Playing cards in India are round.
  1. (v.i) Play
    plā to engage in some amusing exercise: to take part in a game, or a piece of diversion: to gamble: to sport: to trifle: to move irregularly or (mech.) freely: to operate: to act in a theatre: to perform on a musical instrument: to practise a trick: to act a character: to act with repeated strokes
  2. (v.t) Play
    to put in motion: to perform upon: to perform: to act a sportive part: to compete with
  3. (n) Play
    amusement: any exercise for amusement: a contending for victory or for a prize: practice in a contest: gaming: action or use: manner of dealing, as fair-play: a dramatic composition: movement: room for action or motion: liberty of action
Quotations
Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.
Source Unknown
Sir Richard Burton
When I played drunks I had to remain sober because I didn't know how to play them when I was drunk.
Sir Richard Burton
Playing safe is only playing.
Chuck Olson
Louis Armstrong
What we play is life.
Louis Armstrong
Miles Davis
Don't play what's there, play what's not there.
Miles Davis
Ivan Lendl
If I don't practice the way I should, then I won't play the way that I know I can.
Ivan Lendl
Idioms

Child's play - If something is child's play, it is very easy and simple.

Clutch play - If an activity is referred to as a clutch play, it means that the activity was the key to the success or failure of the venture. For instance, a clutch play in a baseball game may be striking out a batter with the bases loaded.

Foul play - If the police suspect foul play, they think a crime was committed.

Go play in traffic - This is used as a way of telling someone to go away.

Play ball - If you play ball, you agree to do what someone asks you to do, or to agree to work with someone in order to achieve something together (often negative)

Play by ear - If you play by ear, you deal with something in an impromptu manner, without guidelines or rules. It refers to playing music without using written notation.

Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary OE. pleien, AS. plegian, plegan, to play, akin to plega, play, game, quick motion, and probably to OS. plegan, to promise, pledge, D. plegen, to care for, attend to, be wont, G. pflegen,; of unknown origin. √28. Cf. Plight (n.)

Usage in the news

For two straight plays - two critical, gutsy plays. readingeagle.com

Runner's World and Running Times team up to give you great play-by-play coverage of the New York City Marathon. runnersworld.com

The work will play in rotating repertory with the Frank Wedekind play Spring's Awakening, which is set to begin Oct 8. playbill.com

It offers a play mode, edit mode, and you-play mode. kbsz-am.com

Goodman Theatre's New Stages Amplified amps up its play-development series with three new plays. chicagoreader.com

To start a video, press the play button in the bottom left corner of the video window, and it should start playing. ludingtondailynews.com

DECATUR TOWNSHIP One play in Wednesday's nonconference basketball gave a glimpse into the game Lexus Murry was playing. reporter-times.com

The 49ers have announced that former defensive back Eric Davis is the team's new radio color man, working alongside play-by-play caller Ted Robinson. sfgate.com

Comet, plays the coach in the show, and he is the first to say that Rudolph won't play in any reindeer games. mix941kmxj.com

Shurmur didn't want to talk about his plans for the game beyond saying some starters won't play and others might play a short time. tribune-chronicle.com

But he also knew that if the Oilers played their best game, the Wings would be playing their last. freep.com

The coach played it off as no big deal, but I guess we'll see about that when Arizona plays USC at 5:30 pm on Saturday. tucsoncitizen.com

Having played John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and a White House adviser, Martin Sheen seemed like the perfect choice to play the US president in The West Wing. enquirer.com

Mark Pincus on playing games, playing soccer and running Zynga. ecnmag.com

UCLA doesn't play around with concussions prince, concussion, practice, game, didn, playing, lee, players, days, hard. ocregister.com

Usage in scientific papers

Definition 5.42 [Non local bundle] A non local bundle B consists of a flower graph which plays the rˆole of the basis, (i.e. a unital associative algebra embedding into its Markov L-coalgebra) and a coassociative coalgebra which plays the rˆole of a fiber space.
Coassociativity breaking and oriented graphs

Formula (10) plays for the Virasoro algebra the role that Wick’s theorem plays for belong to N+ while GfB and Gf eB collections of harmonic oscillators.
Conformal field theories in random domains and stochastic Loewner evolutions

We believe that this result is a strong indication that united K -theory should play the same role for real C*-algebras that complex K -theory plays for complex C*-algebras, especially for any classification theorems for real C*-algebras.
The Range of United K-Theory

For this we apply Lemma 2 with the role of α played by β ′ and the role of r played by any r ′ > 1 chosen to be less than min{β ′ /β , 2 − dβ ′ }.
Random Multiplication Approaches Uniform Measure in Finite Groups

Before the (t + 1)th step is played, there are either 0 or 1 partially determined vertices at level h − 1 (that is, vertices that are undetermined but for which a leaf below them has been played).
Random-Turn Hex and other selection games

Usage in literature

I swear I didn't mean anything by looking at those plays ... but you've an idea that I did. "Interference and Other Football Stories" by Harold M. Sherman

But what I have thus named a fault is mostly theoretical, and does not mar the effective appeal of the play. "The Lonely Way--Intermezzo--Countess Mizzie" by Arthur Schnitzler

But he played, played furiously, and he smote the keyboard as if he hated it. "Melomaniacs" by James Huneker

I'm going to be a dramatist and write plays! "Changing Winds" by St. John G. Ervine

Such plays were called 'moral plays' or 'moralities. "An Introduction to Shakespeare" by H. N. MacCracken

You want to play in my establishment and start off with playing me. "The German Classics, v. 20" by Various

She knew that when she played she was giving pleasure only to herself; but this was no new sensation. "The Complete Project Gutenberg Works of Jane Austen" by Jane Austen

Another way to play "Up Jenkins" is to have the players, equally divided, sit opposite each other at a table. "What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Madame Tilsit knew better, if the child wanted to play, why, let her play. "Camilla: A Tale of a Violin" by Charles Barnard

Well, you've played one trick too many, and you've played it in vain. "The "Genius"" by Theodore Dreiser

Usage in poetry
A sweet sad smile plays on her lips;
Her heart is far away,
And thus she sits till twilight comes
To take the place of day.
"Alexander And Zenobia" by Anne Bronte Author object (43)
Alciphron. I like the shepherds very well,
And song and play, as you can tell.
But there is play, I sadly fear,
And song I would not have you hear.
"Alciphron and Leucippe" by Walter Savage Landor Author object (682)
"Why do I smile--Tra-la-la-la-la!
Working the while?--Tra-la-la-la-la!
Work like this is play,--
So I'm playing all the day--
I can not help but smile!
"Song" by James Whitcomb Riley Author object (339)
The sunny playing of our childhood
At the green foot of Elbours,
The starry playing of our youth
Beyond the flowery fences,
These sigh their lost delights
Within your belt.
"Vengeance" by Edward Powys Mathers
She played — The tinkling sheep-bells filled the glade,
A thrush's song was in the air;
The water elms threw speckled shade,
Wild flowers were blooming everywhere,
The while she played.
"A Memory Tone" by James Edwin Campbell Author object (325)
"If you come a-maying, a-straying, a-playing,
We will pluck the little flowers, enough for you and me;
And when the day dies, end our one day's playing,
Give a kiss and take a kiss and go home free."
"May Day" by Edith Nesbit Author object (157)