31 to play for time → see time
32 to play truant → see truant
▸ play along PHRASAL VERB [no passive] If you play along with a person, with what they say, or with their plans, you appear to agree with them and do what they want, even though you are not sure whether they are right. □ [V P + with ] My mother has learnt to play along with the bizarre conversations begun by father. □ [V P ] He led the way to the lift. Fox played along, following him.
▸ play around
1 PHRASAL VERB If you play around , you behave in a silly way to amuse yourself or other people. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P ] Stop playing around and eat! □ [V P + with ] Had he taken the keys and played around with her car?
2 PHRASAL VERB If you play around with a problem or an arrangement of objects, you try different ways of organizing it in order to find the best solution or arrangement. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P + with ] I can play around with the pictures to make them more eye-catching.
▸ play at
1 PHRASAL VERB [no passive] If you say that someone is playing at something, you disapprove of the fact that they are doing it casually and not very seriously. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V P n/v-ing] We were still playing at war–dropping leaflets instead of bombs.
2 PHRASAL VERB [no passive] If someone, especially a child, plays at being someone or doing something, they pretend to be that person or do that thing as a game. □ [V P n/v-ing] Ed played at being a pirate.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you do not know what someone is playing at , you do not understand what they are doing or what they are trying to achieve. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P ] She began to wonder what he was playing at.
▸ play back
1 PHRASAL VERB When you play back a tape or film, you listen to the sounds or watch the pictures after recording them. □ [V P n] He bought an answering machine that plays back his messages when he calls. □ [V -ed P ] Ted might benefit from hearing his own voice recorded and played back. □ [V n P ] I played the tape back.
2 → see also playback
▸ play down PHRASAL VERB If you play down something, you try to make people believe that it is not particularly important. □ [V P n] Western diplomats have played down the significance of the reports. □ [V n P ] Both London and Dublin are playing the matter down.
▸ play on PHRASAL VERB If you play on someone's fears, weaknesses, or faults, you deliberately use them in order to persuade that person to do something, or to achieve what you want. □ [V P n] …an election campaign which plays on the population's fear of change.
▸ play out PHRASAL VERB [usu passive] If a dramatic event is played out , it gradually takes place. □ [be V -ed P ] Her union reforms were played out against a background of rising unemployment. [Also V P n]
▸ play up
1 PHRASAL VERB If you play up something, you emphasize it and try to make people believe that it is important. □ [V P n] The media played up the prospects for a settlement. □ [V P n, be V -ed P ] His Japanese ancestry has been played up by some of his opponents. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB [usu cont, no passive] If something such as a machine or a part of your body is playing up or is playing you up , it is causing problems because it is not working properly. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ [V P ] The engine had been playing up. □ [V n P ] It was his back playing him up.
3 PHRASAL VERB When children play up , they are naughty and difficult to control. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ [V P ] Patrick often plays up when he knows I'm in a hurry. SYNONYMS play VERB
1
amuse yourself: I need to amuse myself so I won't keep thinking about things.
enjoy yourself: I must say I am really enjoying myself at the moment.
2
compete: It is essential for all players who wish to compete that they earn computer ranking points.
challenge: We challenged a team who called themselves 'College Athletes'.
take on: I knew I couldn't take him on. NOUN 7
drama: He acted in radio dramas.
show: A daily one-hour news show can cost $250,000 to produce.
performance: We went to see Helen in a performance of 'Hamlet'. VERB 8
act: She confessed to her parents her desire to act.
portray: In 1975 he portrayed the king in a Los Angeles revival of 'Camelot'.
perform: This play was first performed in 411 BC.
pla y-act (play-acts , play-acting , play-acted ) VERB [usu cont] If someone is play-acting , they are pretending to have attitudes or feelings that they do not really have. □ [V ] The 'victim' revealed he was only play-acting.
pla y-acting N‑UNCOUNT Play-acting is behaviour where someone pretends to have attitudes or feelings that they do not really have. □ It was just a piece of play-acting.
play|back /ple I bæk/ (playbacks ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] The playback of a recording is the operation of listening to the sound or watching the pictures recorded. □ [+ of ] The day includes a pre-release playback of the new album.
play|boy /ple I bɔ I / (playboys ) N‑COUNT You can refer to a rich man who spends most of his time enjoying himself as a playboy . □ Father was a rich playboy. □ …the playboy millionaire.
Play-Doh /ple I doʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT Play-Doh is a soft coloured substance like clay which children use for making models. [TRADEMARK ]