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

Kerr has been firm running his team’s offensive play around Steph Curry and Draymond Green, given their chemistry together. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025

Pick and mix, play around, lick your fingers, kiss your dining partner, find a combo of flavors and textures and spice that works for you, then flip the fish over and start it all over again on the other side. —Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025

Try a new exercise entirely, or play around with the intensity, repetitions and duration of one already in your rotation. —Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 10 Dec. 2025

And huge thank you to @gibsonguitar for a chance to play around with this gorgeous guitar. —Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for play around

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