Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
play (noun)1.
a) - swordplay
b) archaic - game sport
c) the conduct, course, or action of a game
d) a particular act or maneuver in a game as
(1) the action during an attempt to advance the ball in football
(2) the action in which a is put out in baseball - player
e) the action in which cards are after bidding in a card game - played
f) the moving of a piece in a board game (as chess)
g) one's turn in a game - it's your play
2.
a) obsolete - sexual intercourse
b) amorous flirtation - dalliance
3.
a) recreational activity , especially the spontaneous activity of children
b) absence of serious or harmful intent - jest said it in play
c) the act or an instance of on words or speech sounds - playing
d) - gaming gambling
4.
a) (1) an act, way, or manner of proceeding - maneuver that was a play to get your fingerprints Erle Stanley Gardner
(2) - deal venture
b) (1) the state of being active, operative, or relevant - other motives surely come into play M. R. Cohen several issues are at play
(2) brisk, fitful, or light movement - the gem presented a dazzling play of colors
(3) free or unimpeded motion (as of a part of a machine) , also the length or measure of such motion
(4) scope or opportunity for action
(5) a function of an electronic device that causes a recording to play
5.
emphasis or publicity especially in the news media - wished the country received a better play in the American press Hugh MacLennan
6.
a move or series of moves calculated to arouse friendly feelings - usually used with make made a big play for the girl Will Herman
7.
a) the stage representation of an action or story
b) a dramatic composition - drama fun
intransitive verb
1.
a) to engage in sport or recreation - frolic
b) to have sexual relations , especially to have promiscuous or illicit sexual relations - usually used in the phrase play around
c) (1) to move aimlessly about - trifle
(2) to toy or fiddle around with something - played with her food
(3) to deal or behave frivolously or mockingly - jest
(4) to deal in a light, speculative, or sportive manner
(5) to make use of double meaning or of the similarity of sound of two words for stylistic or humorous effect
2.
a) to take advantage - playing on fears
b) (1) - flutter frisk
(2) to move or operate in a lively, irregular, or intermittent manner
c) to move or function freely within prescribed limits
d) to produce a stream - hoses playing on a fire
3.
a) (1) to perform music - play on a violin
(2) to sound in performance - the organ is playing
(3) to emit sounds - the radio is playing
(4) to reproduce recorded sounds - a record is playing
b) (1) to act in a dramatic production
(2) - show run what's playing at the theater
c) to be suitable for dramatic performance
d) to act with special consideration so as to gain favor, approval, or sympathy - might play to popular prejudices to serve his political ends V. L. Parrington often used in the phrase play up to
e) to produce a specified impression in performance - a movie that plays like a sitcom
4.
a) to engage or take part in a game
b) to perform in a position in a specified manner - the outfielders were playing deep
c) to perform an action during one's turn in a game
d) - gamble
e) (1) to behave or conduct oneself in a specified way - play safe
(2) to feign a specified state or quality - play dead
(3) to take part in or assent to some activity - cooperate play along with his scheme
(4) to act so as to prove advantageous to another - usually used in the phrase play into the hands of
5.
transitive verb
to gain approval - go over her idea did not play well
1.
a) (1) to engage in or occupy oneself with - play baseball
(2) to engage in (an activity) as a game
(3) to deal with, handle, or manage
(4) - exploit manipulate
b) to pretend to engage in the activities of - play war children playing house
c) (1) to amount to by one's efforts - played an important role in their success
(2) to perform or execute for amusement or to deceive or mock - play a trick
(3) - wreak play havoc
(4) to use or introduce as a political or rhetorical strategy - play the national security card
2.
a) (1) to put on a performance of (a play)
(2) to act in the character or part of
(3) to act or perform in - played leading theaters
b) to perform or act the part of - play the fool
3.
a) (1) to contend against in or as if in a game
(2) to use as a contestant in a game - the coach did not play him
(3) to perform the duties associated with (a certain position) - played quarterback
(4) to guard or move into position to defend against (an opponent) in a specified manner
b) (1) to wager in a game - stake
(2) to make wagers on - play the races
(3) to speculate on or in - play the stock market
(4) to operate on the basis of - play a hunch
c) to put into action in a game , especially to remove (a card) from one's hand and place usually faceup on a table in one's turn either as part of a scoring combination or as one's contribution to a trick - playing
d) to catch or pick up (a batted ball) - field played the ball bare-handed
e) to direct the course of (as a ball) - hit played a wedge shot to the green , also to cause (a ball or puck) to rebound - played the ball off the backboard
4.
a) to perform (music) on an instrument - play a waltz
b) to perform music on - play the violin
c) to perform music of (a certain composer)
d) (1) to cause (as a radio or phonograph) to emit sounds
(2) to cause the recorded sound or image of (as a record or a magnetic tape) to be reproduced
5.
a) - wield ply
b) to discharge, fire, or set off with continuous effect - played the hose on the burning building
c) to cause to move or operate lightly and irregularly or intermittently
d) to keep (a hooked fish) in action
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
play (noun)1.
activity engaged in to amuse oneself
SYNONIMS:
dalliance, frolic, frolicking, fun, fun and games, recreation, relaxation, rollicking, sportRELATED WORDS:
gamboling ( gambolling), romping; amusement, diversion, entertainment; hobby, hobbyhorse, pastime; delight, enjoyment, pleasance, pleasure; friskiness, playfulness, sportiveness, wantonness; devilment, devilry ( deviltry), hanky-panky, hob, impishness, jinks, knavery, mischief, mischievousness, rascality, roguishness, waggery; binge, fling, kick, lark, revel, rollick, spree; hilarity, merriment, merrymaking, revelry, whoopee; buffoonery, high jinks ( hijinks), horseplay, tomfooleryNEAR ANTONYMS:
drudgery, labor, work; duty, obligation, responsibility2.
a written work in which the story is told through speech and action that is intended to be acted out on stage
SYNONIMS:
drama, dramatizationRELATED WORDS:
interlude, playlet; comedy, comedy drama, docudrama, dramedy, melodrama, monodrama, musical, musical comedy, psychodrama, tragedy, tragicomedy; magnum opus, opus, work; adaptation3.
an attitude or manner not to be taken seriously
SYNONIMS:
game, jest, play, sportRELATED WORDS:
facetiousness, flightiness, flippancy, frivolity, frivolousness, frothiness, levity, light-mindedness, sillinessNEAR ANTONYMS:
earnestness, gravity, seriousness, soberness, sobriety, solemnity4.
the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose
SYNONIMS:
application, employment, exercise, operation, play, usageRELATED WORDS:
exertion; reuseNEAR ANTONYMS:
disuse, nonuse5.
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
SYNONIMS:
artifice, device, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, wileRELATED WORDS:
bluff, end run, feint; cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery ( skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery; fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle; blind, front, smoke screen1.
to engage in activity for amusement
SYNONIMS:
dally, disport, frolic, recreate, rollick, skylark, sport, toyRELATED WORDS:
cavort, frisk, gambol, romp; dabble, trifle; amuse, divert, entertain; delight, please; dabble, fiddle (around), mess around, putter (around); bum (around), dawdle, goldbrick, hang, hang about [], idle, loaf, lounge (around about), relax, rest, screw around, slack (off); jest, joke, teaseNEAR ANTONYMS:
drudge, labor, plod, plug (away), slave, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, work2.
to present a portrayal or performance of
SYNONIMS:
do, impersonate, interpret, perform, play, portrayRELATED WORDS:
depict, dramatize, render, represent; act out, enact, pantomime, playact, role-play, take on; overact, overplay, underplay; ape, clown, ham, imitate, masquerade, mime, mimic, pose (as); star (in); coact, costar3.
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
SYNONIMS:
act, masquerade (as), personate, play, pose (as)RELATED WORDS:
ape, copy, imitate, mime, mimic, mock, monkey, parody, travesty; perform, portray4.
to spend time in aimless activity
SYNONIMS:
doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang about, kick around, mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifleRELATED WORDS:
dally, dawdle, dillydally, hang (around out), idle, loaf, loll, lounge; clown (around), horse around; diddle (with), tinkerNEAR ANTONYMS:
buckle (down), knuckle down, set (to), settle (down)5.
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
SYNONIMS:
address, contend (with), cope (with), field, grapple (with), hack, manage, maneuver, manipulate, negotiate, play, swing, take, treatRELATED WORDS:
engineer, finesse, jockey; bring off, carry off, carry out, get off, pull; command, direct, guide, steer; control, micromanage, regulate, run; react (to), respond (to)NEAR ANTONYMS:
botch, bungle, foozle, fumble, goof (up), louse up, mess (up), mishandle, muff, scamp6.
to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event
SYNONIMS:
gamble, go, lay, play, put, stake, wagerRELATED WORDS:
bid, offer; adventure, chance, hazard, speculate, venture; endanger, imperil, jeopardizeto take unfair advantage of
SYNONIMS:
abuse, capitalize (on), cash in (on), impose (on upon), leverage, milk, pimp, play (on upon), use, workRELATED WORDS:
jerk around, manipulate, mistreat; bleed, cheat, fleece, overcharge, skin, soak, stick; commercialize, commodifyto control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means
SYNONIMS:
exploit, play (upon)RELATED WORDS:
engineer, finagle, jockey, maneuver; beguile, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, kid, shanghai, snow, take in, trick; intrigue, machinate, plot, scheme; arrange, contrive, devise, finesse, mastermind; cheat, chisel, con, defraud, fleece, gyp, hustle, swindleto handle thoughtlessly, ignorantly, or mischievously
SYNONIMS:
diddle (with), fiddle (with), fool (with), mess (with), monkey (with), play (with), tinker (with), toy (with), twiddle (with)RELATED WORDS:
abuse, alter, doctor, manhandle, manipulate, mistreat, misuse; butt in, interfere, intrude, meddle, muck (about around)