play with

phrasal verb

played with; playing with; plays with

Definition of play with

1 : to move or handle (something) with one's hands or fingers often without thinking Stop playing with that pen and pay attention to what I'm saying.

2 : to handle, change, or deal with (something) in a careless way I played with the radio for a while but couldn't get it to work. It's important to teach your children not to play with guns/fire/matches. Don't play with my heart/emotions. You have to take this seriously. You're playing with people's lives!

3 : to think about (something) briefly and not very seriously I played with the idea of moving to Chicago but ended up staying in New York.

Learn More about play with

Dictionary Entries near play with

play with one's food

play with words/language

Statistics for play with

Cite this Entry

“Play with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20with. Accessed 2 Mar. 2021.

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