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

Recreate the look in a similar muted color scheme, like allover cloudy white, or play around with vivid color combinations like Miami teal and head-to-toe pinks. —Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026

Since the Giants also have Christian Koss, who can also play around the infield, San Francisco could potentially trade Schmitt for more pitching. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026

Theoretically, Letang could only play around seven games during this stretch. —Josh Yohe, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026

Sparkling water lightens it, but play around with the ratios. —Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for play around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background