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

Oakland Athletics Have Some Certainty In the interim, the Athletics will spend the next three seasons playing at a minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento, Calif., the home of the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. —John Perrotto, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025

Instead, the Yankees should bring back this $60 million slugger to fill the gap who is very familiar with playing at Yankee Stadium. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 1 Mar. 2025

Smith’s goal, his ninth of the season, came off a set play at the 17:21 mark of the second period. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2025

Swift popped out at numerous games throughout both seasons in between Eras Tour shows, and even flew straight from Japan to Las Vegas after wrapping her final concert in Tokyo last year to watch Kelce play at Super Bowl LVIII. —Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025

Rhymes for play at

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat