toy with

phrasal verb

toyed with; toying with; toys with

1

: to think about (something) briefly and not very seriously

I toyed with the idea of moving to France but ended up staying here.

2

: to move or touch (something) with one's fingers often without thinking

She toyed with her hair while she talked on the phone.

3

: to deal with or control (someone or something) in a clever and usually unfair or selfish way

Do you really love me, or are you just toying with me?

Don't toy with my emotions.

Examples of toy with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While this is Eéra’s first capsule collection in the Middle East and first tie-up with a hospitality player, Blanga and Capitani have toyed with limited-edition lines before. —Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025

Word spread that Vonn was toying with a return. —Sean Gregory, Time, 27 Oct. 2025

In the musical sphere of the Drake-Lamar competition, Lamar’s 22 Grammy wins (to Drake’s five) and his Emmy for a Super Bowl halftime show that toyed with Drake seemingly make for a one-sided scoreboard. —Mike Wilson, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025

Politicians toy with those associations in their own cowboy costuming. —Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025