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

The Sequoits made the defensive adjustment, however, hit some big plays with running back Gavin Stone and rolled to a 34-21 nonconference victory at Lake Zurich on Friday. — Mike McGraw, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026

Unlike previous weeks, when the Jets generated a few explosive plays with him under center, many of Klubnik’s completions were checkdowns. — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 29 Aug. 2026

And one of them spent his high school years playing with what was then one of the area’s weakest teams. — Idaho Statesman, 29 Aug. 2026

Last season, Volpe led American League shortstops with 19 errors while playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder for the final four months. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026