play at

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

The All-Star game will be played at the United Center in Chicago on July 25. — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 8 July 2026

The quality of hoops ranged from genuinely exciting to a snooze, all generally played at a quick tempo that was only occasionally buffered by replay reviews of calls made under the lowest of stakes. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 7 July 2026

But playing at home, they were supposed to be past this sort of embarrassing result. — John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

The next chance will come Wednesday when Minnesota plays at Connecticut. — ABC News, 6 July 2026

Rhymes for play at

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