play around
idiom
1
: to have sex with someone who is not one's husband, wife, or regular partner
He's not the kind of guy who plays around.
—often + onShe's been playing around on her husband.
—often + withShe's been playing around with one of her coworkers.
2
: to deal with or treat something in a careless way
When it comes to protecting his family, he doesn't play around.
—often + withYou can't play around with diabetes; it's a very serious disease.
3
: to use or do something in a way that is not very serious
It's time to stop playing around and get busy.
—often + onI spent the evening playing around on the piano/computer/Internet.
—often + withI'm not really a painter; I just like to play around with paints.
4
: to move or change something or to think about something in different ways often in order to find out what would work best
—+ with
I see you've been playing around with the living room furniture again.
The supervisor played around with our work schedules this week.
We played around with the idea for a while but eventually realized that it just wouldn't work.
Examples of play around in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His writing style has evolved over time, but Dec. 22, 2022, is when Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to fully embrace Instagram as a medium to play around with words.
—
Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Additionally, disco offered a framework for instrumentalists to play around with, as well as characteristics that cannot be boiled down to logic: there can also be affective reasons, regardless of whether the intent is irony, camp, parody, or the expression of genuine sentiment.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 23 Feb. 2025
Their scale allows for more ability to play around with configurations—side-by-side with a dresser in between in lieu of two side tables, foot-to-foot on one wall, head-to-head with a headboard in between, or tucked like an L-shape in a corner.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2025
That gave us enough of a source of material to play around and come up with our own version of that.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play around
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Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Additionally, disco offered a framework for instrumentalists to play around with, as well as characteristics that cannot be boiled down to logic: there can also be affective reasons, regardless of whether the intent is irony, camp, parody, or the expression of genuine sentiment.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 23 Feb. 2025
Their scale allows for more ability to play around with configurations—side-by-side with a dresser in between in lieu of two side tables, foot-to-foot on one wall, head-to-head with a headboard in between, or tucked like an L-shape in a corner.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2025
That gave us enough of a source of material to play around and come up with our own version of that.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play around
Cite this Entry
“Play around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20around. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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