play with

verb

played with; playing with; plays 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.

Examples of play with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That included conversations with people within the Seahawks organization who know him, most notably backup quarterback Jalen Milroe, who played with Arnold at Alabama. — Tobias Bass, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026

In the short teaser shown at D23, Gosling’s pilot character Kade Auberon finds a young man playing with a star fighter jet that’s decommissioned but was known as the fastest ever built. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

On the women's side, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines continued her run of strong play with a victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who lost the first set and stopped playing in the second with an ankle injury. — ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026

While reviewing Clancy’s cellphone records, her defense attorney pointed to multiple internet searches related to caring for and playing with children, including queries about trampolines and kids’ movies. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026