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

That was a really interesting thing to play around with. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 26 June 2025

Meet Me in the Solarium WWDC typically includes the introduction of Apple's next-gen operating systems, so developers have a few months to play around with them before a formal launch in the fall. —Emily Forlini, PC Magazine, 9 June 2025

Use these pickles to play around with the flavor palate for your next appetizer spread. —Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 16 June 2025

Some high-proof bourbons can be intense straight from the bottle, so don’t be afraid to play around with dilution. —Emily Price, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025

Rhymes for play around

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