play around

idiom

1

: to have sex with someone who is not one's husband, wife, or regular partner

He's not the kind of guy who plays around.

—often + on

She's been playing around on her husband.

—often + with

She's been playing around with one of her coworkers.

2

: to deal with or treat something in a careless way

When it comes to protecting his family, he doesn't play around.

—often + with

You can't play around with diabetes; it's a very serious disease.

3

: to use or do something in a way that is not very serious

It's time to stop playing around and get busy.

—often + on

I spent the evening playing around on the piano/computer/Internet.

—often + with

I'm not really a painter; I just like to play around with paints.

4

: to move or change something or to think about something in different ways often in order to find out what would work best

—+ with

I see you've been playing around with the living room furniture again.

The supervisor played around with our work schedules this week.

We played around with the idea for a while but eventually realized that it just wouldn't work.

Examples of play around in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The seeds to creating this fascinating juxtaposition were planted early, with the artist (real name Neko Bennett) growing up listening to Jodeci, Sade, Anita Baker, Mint Condition, Intro and other old-school R&B and soul acts his mother and grandmother would play around the house. —Heran Mamo, Billboard, 8 Mar. 2024

For a venerated luxury brand, being able to play around with that is seen as intelligent rather than dumbing down or vulgar. —Tim Barber, WIRED, 26 Mar. 2024

There are notes, but then the actor’s voice gets to play around those notes and bring their own individuality to the roles. —David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024

Frontera, one of the headliners of the festival taking place for the first time in Austin, went on to play around half a minute of the norteño track, which inspired festival-goers to take their phones out and capture the surprise. —Griselda Flores, Billboard, 3 Mar. 2024

While winning may take some time, given limits to how much Man United can play around with its player roster, Ratcliffe is hopeful that his leadership will eventually result in dominance. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Feb. 2024

Of course, adapt and customize these prompts to suit your goals and play around with them a little to see what generates the best response. —Rachel Wells, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024

The array of pasta shapes available, including fat, rustic bucatini and elegant farfalle (bowties), to name a couple of my favorites, gives you even more to play around with. —Domenica Marchetti, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024

And the content, at least in theory, should get more varied and appealing once more studios and developers get to play around with it. —Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2024