play with

phrasal verb

played with; playing with; plays with

: 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.

: 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!

: 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 In the end, the points were shared, but the 1-1 scoreline did little to reflect the frenetic intensity the Premier League clash was played with. —

Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024 Her elementary school students participate in a colorful range of activities like reading but also stretching, singing and playing with puzzles, among other creative exercises. —

Scottie Andrew, CNN, 29 Sep. 2024 The couple’s kids also made cameos in the round-up — including the boys posing in superhero costumes and playing with the family dog. —

Angel Saunders, People.com, 28 Sep. 2024 If the toxicity and hurtful comments cross over to harassment/defaming, utilize your legal resources and let folks know to play with somebody else. —

Dominique Fluker, Essence, 27 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for play with

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play with.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.