play with

phrasal 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

Kennard quickly got a glimpse of what life will be like playing with the Lakers’ big three of Doncic, James and Reaves. —Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2026

To have any chance of playing with the cool kids, you must be seen. —Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026

Who flips from cooking like Gordon Ramsay on a Saturday to playing with their food on a Monday night? —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2026

Even with All-American sophomore Sarah Strong sidelined, the UConn women’s basketball team continued its dominant run through Big East play with an 80-48 rout of Butler at PeoplesBank Arena on Saturday. —Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026