play at

phrasal verb

played at; playing at; plays at

1

: to do (something) in a way that is not serious

They were only playing at trying to fix the problem.

2

chiefly British : to play by pretending to be (someone or something)

She liked to play at doctors and nurses as a child.

—often used in the phrase play at being (something)

boys playing at being soldiers

3

British

—used to say in an annoyed way that one does not know the reason for someone's behavior

What is he playing at?

Examples of play at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Neither matters all that much, nor is any kind of rationale necessary to fall sway to director Oliver Laxe’s deliriously cool survival story, gassed by a pedal-to-the-metal need for speed and pounding EDM music which, if played at the proper volume, should rattle your rib cage. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025

Newberry received his spring clearance to play at halftime, suited up and then took a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown to start the second half. —Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 May 2025

There were under two minutes to play at the Garden on Friday night and the Knicks were about to do to the Pacers at the end of Game 2 what the Pacers had done to them at the end of Game 1. —Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 24 May 2025

Nicole Gwynn, who played at Wethersfield High, just finished her college career at Georgia Southern with 1,569 points, and is now hoping to play overseas. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 24 May 2025

Rhymes for play at

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat