play at

phrasal verb

played at; playing at; plays at

1

: to do (something) in a way that is not serious

They were only playing at trying to fix the problem.

2

chiefly British : to play by pretending to be (someone or something)

She liked to play at doctors and nurses as a child.

—often used in the phrase play at being (something)

boys playing at being soldiers

3

British

—used to say in an annoyed way that one does not know the reason for someone's behavior

What is he playing at?

Examples of play at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has played at a top-10 level this season. —Tashan Reed, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025

However, this will in all likelihood be the first time since 2015 that Kelce will play at least 16 games and fail to get 1,000 yards. —Ryan Morik, Fox News, 1 Jan. 2025

Historically, memory of the game typically centers on the fact that it was played at all. —Tracie Canada / Made By History, TIME, 1 Jan. 2025

The Nittany Lions play at a higher level than the Broncos on both sides of the ball. —George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024