play with
phrasal 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 sport of pickleball—a cross between tennis and badminton, played with a hard plastic ball—is 60 years old, having been invented near Seattle in 1965.
—
Martin Cizmar, Wired News, 20 July 2025
But there were cons for playing with (Michael) Jordan.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2025
Fudd and Bueckers both played at the University of Connecticut
Fudd and Bueckers have been friends for years and both played with the United States at the 2017 and 2018 FIBA Women's Championships.
—Caroline Blair, People.com, 18 July 2025
This is not about playing with ChatGPT or Claude on your phone in your downtime.
—Stephen Miles, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for play with
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Martin Cizmar, Wired News, 20 July 2025
But there were cons for playing with (Michael) Jordan.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2025
Fudd and Bueckers both played at the University of Connecticut
Fudd and Bueckers have been friends for years and both played with the United States at the 2017 and 2018 FIBA Women's Championships.
—Caroline Blair, People.com, 18 July 2025
This is not about playing with ChatGPT or Claude on your phone in your downtime.
—Stephen Miles, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for play with
Cite this Entry
“Play with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20with. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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