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

And still, toys were played with based on this gruesome looking figure with a tragic backstory! —Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 28 Nov. 2024

There are only so many notes in an octave, and almost every song on the planet can be played with four basic chords. —Eric Fuller, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024

The surviving members of the Dead — Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart — revealed Lesh’s desire to play with the group again on CBS Mornings. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024

Round Hill also hosts an annual tennis tournament for more competitive players, offering guests the chance to play with tennis champions like Bianca Andreescu and Kevin Anderson. —Zachary Schwartz, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2024