1
as in recreates
to engage in activity for amusement
told her son that he needed some time to run and play in the yard after his hard work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in performs
to present a portrayal or performance of
played Hamlet in the campus production of the classic
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in mocks
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
stop playing the innocent, because I know that you were behind that prank
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in idles
to spend time in aimless activity
just played around while we waited for the bus to arrive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in manipulates
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
this is how we're going to play the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in puts
to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event
figuring that she had little to lose, she played her last few bucks on the state lottery
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in dramas
a written work in which the story is told through speech and action that is intended to be acted out on stage
we'll be putting on a school play using that stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in uses
the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose
the host's sense of humor was obviously in play during the awards ceremony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ruses
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
the guy at the bar made an unusually creative play to get her phone number
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of plays
Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Making plays often for his teammates, Banchero added six assists, but turned the ball over five times.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2026
In the music video, which also stars Miranda Lambert, Luke Grimes and Kaitlin Butts, Ava plays a woman at a bar who catches the eye of Langley's boyfriend in the video, played by Grimes.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 5 Apr. 2026
Cunk on Earth plays like a Daily Show segment spread out across five hours, in which viewers watch the earnest — and ofttimes exasperated — talking heads field inane questions from Morgan’s uproariously daft Cunk.
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Apr. 2026
The film’s script plays all the hits, densely packed with visual references, audio cues, and locations from Mario’s full history — and even brings back the brothers’ Brooklyn origins.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
Emy Coligado plays Francis’ wife Piama.
—Arushi Jacob, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
When the Heat plays Herro and Powell together, Miami has been outscored by 26 points in 249 minutes this season.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Friday was the first of two Fonda underplays McCartney plays this weekend, with show two coming Saturday night.
—Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 28 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
The Angels backed Kochanowicz with two other super plays, left fielder Josh Lowe diving to catch Dominic Canzone's flare in the fourth and second baseman Ozwald Peraza diving to stop Raley's fifth-inning grounder up the middle and throwing to first.
—CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
The room available to make plays got smaller by the end of the first, and was non-existent at times in the middle frame.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
The loss isn’t solely on either star, but neither stepped up when the Huskies desperately needed someone to take over and make plays.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
Across a two-hour practice featuring dozens upon dozens of plays, even the best players suffer a misstep, a mental lapse or let off the gas for a moment.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
This marks the fourth of Kirkman’s plays staged by the company.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2026
Winning plays aren’t necessarily scoring plays.
—Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
One member of the company takes five shots of whiskey (or another liquor of their choice) before tackling a role in one of Bard’s most famous plays.
—Abraham Swee, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
In the dance, Barnes plays a library page on her lunch hour who has to deliver five research requests to patrons.
—Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Making plays often for his teammates, Banchero added six assists, but turned the ball over five times.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2026
In the music video, which also stars Miranda Lambert, Luke Grimes and Kaitlin Butts, Ava plays a woman at a bar who catches the eye of Langley's boyfriend in the video, played by Grimes.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 5 Apr. 2026
Cunk on Earth plays like a Daily Show segment spread out across five hours, in which viewers watch the earnest — and ofttimes exasperated — talking heads field inane questions from Morgan’s uproariously daft Cunk.
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Apr. 2026
The film’s script plays all the hits, densely packed with visual references, audio cues, and locations from Mario’s full history — and even brings back the brothers’ Brooklyn origins.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
Emy Coligado plays Francis’ wife Piama.
—Arushi Jacob, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
When the Heat plays Herro and Powell together, Miami has been outscored by 26 points in 249 minutes this season.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Friday was the first of two Fonda underplays McCartney plays this weekend, with show two coming Saturday night.
—Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 28 Mar. 2026
Noun
The Angels backed Kochanowicz with two other super plays, left fielder Josh Lowe diving to catch Dominic Canzone’s flare in the fourth and second baseman Ozwald Peraza diving to stop Raley’s fifth-inning grounder up the middle and throwing to first.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
The Angels backed Kochanowicz with two other super plays, left fielder Josh Lowe diving to catch Dominic Canzone's flare in the fourth and second baseman Ozwald Peraza diving to stop Raley's fifth-inning grounder up the middle and throwing to first.
—CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
The room available to make plays got smaller by the end of the first, and was non-existent at times in the middle frame.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
The loss isn’t solely on either star, but neither stepped up when the Huskies desperately needed someone to take over and make plays.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
Across a two-hour practice featuring dozens upon dozens of plays, even the best players suffer a misstep, a mental lapse or let off the gas for a moment.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
This marks the fourth of Kirkman’s plays staged by the company.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2026
Winning plays aren’t necessarily scoring plays.
—Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
One member of the company takes five shots of whiskey (or another liquor of their choice) before tackling a role in one of Bard’s most famous plays.
—Abraham Swee, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plays
Verb
-
Take a peek at RetroCast The feature, displaying weather from New York City on Friday, April 3, 2026, closely recreates the look and feel of old-school local forecast segments, opening with a rotating globe-style display before transitioning into a full-screen forecast.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The land recreates Arendelle around a lagoon, its timber buildings painted in muted Scandinavian pastels, facades adorned with rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian decorative art.—
Thomas Adamson,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Deocampo also is the co-founder of ARKADE, a 25-member K-pop dance team that performs throughout Southern California.—
Marcia Luttrell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Later Saturday, Wiseman and Glover planned to take a turn at manually piloting the Orion capsule to help engineers better understand how the spacecraft performs in flight and to provide hands-on feedback for future Artemis astronauts.—
William Harwood,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Tight end Assuming Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is long gone, there’s only one who’s a potential option at 43 - Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers, who Miller mocks to Miami.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
-
This seems like a reach, but many mocks now have Cooper, previously considered a second-round pick, going to the Jets in the middle of the first round.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As your car idles, warm air blown from the top of your dashboard will melt the ice on the outside of the windshield.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
27 Dec. 2025
-
Security camera footage shows a black vehicle park in front of Café Bernardo, a restaurant, and idles for about two minutes.—
Madisen Keavy,
CBS News,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Reinhart’s Apple is a deliciously deadly mystery wrapped in sequins and pure unadulterated attitude, as Tung’s Pumpkin subtly manipulates the group to get to the bottom of a past incident that weighs on her personally, despite her new friends being oblivious to her true identity.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The film is being released as newsrooms shrink, the mainstream media consolidates and social media manipulates the meaning of truth.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As is the case in other states, Utah not only puts parents in charge of this complex bookkeeping but also appoints them as their children’s trustees—and all in the name of protecting children’s earnings from greedy parents.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The victory evens the Rangers’ record at 5-5, which puts them a half-game behind the Astros in the AL West.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The new adaptation has to figure out how to update the screenplay to avoid the mostly exploitational way such relationships were treated in the dramas of the 1970s.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
In a situation with very few precedents in rock history, Schon and Cain continued to tour together in Journey in the middle of all their legal and personal dramas.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Confronted with larger workloads and a shrinking headcount, AI — both the kind officially approved by companies and more surreptitious uses — has made its way via support staff into essential Hollywood workflows, including the creative development process.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Kelp has additional uses such as fuel and fertilizer.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plays. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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