play at

phrasal verb

played at; playing at; plays at

1

: to do (something) in a way that is not serious

They were only playing at trying to fix the problem.

2

chiefly British : to play by pretending to be (someone or something)

She liked to play at doctors and nurses as a child.

—often used in the phrase play at being (something)

boys playing at being soldiers

3

British

—used to say in an annoyed way that one does not know the reason for someone's behavior

What is he playing at?

Examples of play at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Graduate forward John Camden, who previously played at Delaware and Virginia Tech, had his first double-double of the season with a game-high 25 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. —Harold Gutmann, Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2026

Like the neighborhood kids playing at the community pool, also from his 1975 series, a stop-you-in-your-tracks, sincere, insightful, nostalgic slice of life from before kids were on their devices all day, kids turned loose by parents to have fun and make friends IRL. —Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026

Morris, who has also played at Maryland and North Carolina State, will be a backup in Austin to Longhorns starter Arch Manning. —Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 24 Jan. 2026

The Magic will play at Miami on Wednesday. —Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for play at

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat