play
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
play
n 1: a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a
stage; "he wrote several plays but only one was produced on
Broadway" [syn: {play}, {drama}, {dramatic play}]
2: a theatrical performance of a drama; "the play lasted two
hours"
3: a preset plan of action in team sports; "the coach drew up
the plays for her team"
4: a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and
skill; "he made a great maneuver"; "the runner was out on a
play by the shortstop" [syn: {maneuver}, {manoeuvre}, {play}]
5: a state in which action is feasible; "the ball was still in
play"; "insiders said the company's stock was in play"
6: utilization or exercise; "the play of the imagination"
7: an attempt to get something; "they made a futile play for
power"; "he made a bid to gain attention" [syn: {bid},
{play}]
8: activity by children that is guided more by imagination than
by fixed rules; "Freud believed in the utility of play to a
small child" [syn: {play}, {child's play}]
9: (in games or plays or other performances) the time during
which play proceeds; "rain stopped play in the 4th inning"
[syn: {playing period}, {period of play}, {play}]
10: the removal of constraints; "he gave free rein to his
impulses"; "they gave full play to the artist's talent"
[syn: {free rein}, {play}]
11: a weak and tremulous light; "the shimmer of colors on
iridescent feathers"; "the play of light on the water" [syn:
{shimmer}, {play}]
12: verbal wit or mockery (often at another's expense but not to
be taken seriously); "he became a figure of fun"; "he said
it in sport" [syn: {fun}, {play}, {sport}]
13: movement or space for movement; "there was too much play in
the steering wheel" [syn: {looseness}, {play}] [ant:
{tautness}, {tightness}]
14: gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or
amusement; "it was all done in play"; "their frolic in the
surf threatened to become ugly" [syn: {play}, {frolic},
{romp}, {gambol}, {caper}]
15: (game) the activity of doing something in an agreed
succession; "it is my turn"; "it is still my play" [syn:
{turn}, {play}]
16: the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning
(including the payment of a price for a chance to win a
prize); "his gambling cost him a fortune"; "there was heavy
play at the blackjack table" [syn: {gambling}, {gaming},
{play}]
17: the act using a sword (or other weapon) vigorously and
skillfully [syn: {play}, {swordplay}]
v 1: participate in games or sport; "We played hockey all
afternoon"; "play cards"; "Pele played for the Brazilian
teams in many important matches"
2: act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific
effect or outcome; "This factor played only a minor part in
his decision"; "This development played into her hands"; "I
played no role in your dismissal"
3: play on an instrument; "The band played all night long"
4: play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to
act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She
played the servant to her husband's master" [syn: {act},
{play}, {represent}]
5: be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in
a way characteristic of children; "The kids were playing
outside all day"; "I used to play with trucks as a little
girl"
6: replay (as a melody); "Play it again, Sam"; "She played the
third movement very beautifully" [syn: {play}, {spiel}]
7: perform music on (a musical instrument); "He plays the
flute"; "Can you play on this old recorder?"
8: pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind; "He acted
the idiot"; "She plays deaf when the news are bad" [syn:
{act}, {play}, {act as}]
9: move or seem to move quickly, lightly, or irregularly; "The
spotlights played on the politicians"
10: bet or wager (money); "He played $20 on the new horse"; "She
plays the races"
11: engage in recreational activities rather than work; occupy
oneself in a diversion; "On weekends I play"; "The students
all recreate alike" [syn: {play}, {recreate}]
12: pretend to be somebody in the framework of a game or playful
activity; "Let's play like I am mommy"; "Play cowboy and
Indians"
13: emit recorded sound; "The tape was playing for hours"; "the
stereo was playing Beethoven when I entered"
14: perform on a certain location; "The prodigy played Carnegie
Hall at the age of 16"; "She has been playing on Broadway
for years"
15: put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act
strategically as if in a card game; "He is playing his cards
close to his chest"; "The Democrats still have some cards to
play before they will concede the electoral victory"
16: engage in an activity as if it were a game rather than take
it seriously; "They played games on their opponents"; "play
the stock market"; "play with her feelings"; "toy with an
idea" [syn: {play}, {toy}]
17: behave in a certain way; "play safe"; "play it safe"; "play
fair"
18: cause to emit recorded audio or video; "They ran the tapes
over and over again"; "I'll play you my favorite record";
"He never tires of playing that video" [syn: {play}, {run}]
19: manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination; "She
played nervously with her wedding ring"; "Don't fiddle with
the screws"; "He played with the idea of running for the
Senate" [syn: {toy}, {fiddle}, {diddle}, {play}]
20: use to one's advantage; "She plays on her clients' emotions"
21: consider not very seriously; "He is trifling with her"; "She
plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania" [syn: {dally},
{trifle}, {play}]
22: be received or accepted or interpreted in a specific way;
"This speech didn't play well with the American public";
"His remarks played to the suspicions of the committee"
23: behave carelessly or indifferently; "Play about with a young
girl's affection" [syn: {dally}, {toy}, {play}, {flirt}]
24: cause to move or operate freely within a bounded space; "The
engine has a wheel that is playing in a rack"
25: perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He
acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"
[syn: {act}, {play}, {roleplay}, {playact}]
26: be performed or presented for public viewing; "What's
playing in the local movie theater?"; "`Cats' has been
playing on Broadway for many years"
27: cause to happen or to occur as a consequence; "I cannot work
a miracle"; "wreak havoc"; "bring comments"; "play a joke";
"The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area" [syn:
{bring}, {work}, {play}, {wreak}, {make for}]
28: discharge or direct or be discharged or directed as if in a
continuous stream; "play water from a hose"; "The fountains
played all day"
29: make bets; "Play the races"; "play the casinos in Trouville"
30: stake on the outcome of an issue; "I bet $100 on that new
horse"; "She played all her money on the dark horse" [syn:
{bet}, {wager}, {play}]
31: shoot or hit in a particular manner; "She played a good
backhand last night"
32: use or move; "I had to play my queen"
33: employ in a game or in a specific position; "They played him
on first base"
34: contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle;
"Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play
Mary" [syn: {meet}, {encounter}, {play}, {take on}]
35: exhaust by allowing to pull on the line; "play a hooked
fish"
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Play \Play\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Played}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Playing}.] [OE. pleien, AS. plegian, plegan, to play, akin
to plega play, game, quick motion, and probably to OS. plegan
to promise, pledge, D. plegen to care for, attend to, be
wont, G. pflegen; of unknown origin. [root]28. Cf. {Plight},
n.]
1. To engage in sport or lively recreation; to exercise for
the sake of amusement; to frolic; to spot.
[1913 Webster]
As Cannace was playing in her walk. --Chaucer.
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The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,
Had he thy reason, would he skip and play! --Pope.
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And some, the darlings of their Lord,
Play smiling with the flame and sword. --Keble.
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2. To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be
careless.
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"Nay," quod this monk, "I have no lust to pleye."
--Chaucer.
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Men are apt to play with their healths. --Sir W.
Temple.
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3. To contend, or take part, in a game; as, to play ball;
hence, to gamble; as, he played for heavy stakes.
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4. To perform on an instrument of music; as, to play on a
flute.
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One that . . . can play well on an instrument.
--Ezek.
xxxiii. 32.
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Play, my friend, and charm the charmer. --Granville.
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5. To act; to behave; to practice deception.
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His mother played false with a smith. --Shak.
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6. To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with
alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate; to act; as,
the fountain plays.
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The heart beats, the blood circulates, the lungs
play. --Cheyne.
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7. To move gayly; to wanton; to disport.
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Even as the waving sedges play with wind. --Shak.
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The setting sun
Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.
--Addison.
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All fame is foreign but of true desert,
Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.
--Pope.
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8. To act on the stage; to personate a character.
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A lord will hear your play to-night. --Shak.
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Courts are theaters where some men play. --Donne.
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{To play into a person's hands}, to act, or to manage
matters, to his advantage or benefit.
{To play off}, to affect; to feign; to practice artifice.
{To play upon}.
(a) To make sport of; to deceive.
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Art thou alive?
Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight.
--Shak.
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(b) To use in a droll manner; to give a droll expression
or application to; as, to play upon words.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Play \Play\, n.
1. Amusement; sport; frolic; gambols.
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2. Any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement
or diversion; a game.
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John naturally loved rough play. --Arbuthnot.
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3. The act or practice of contending for victory, amusement,
or a prize, as at dice, cards, or billiards; gaming; as,
to lose a fortune in play.
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4. Action; use; employment; exercise; practice; as, fair
play; sword play; a play of wit. "The next who comes in
play." --Dryden.
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5. A dramatic composition; a comedy or tragedy; a composition
in which characters are represented by dialogue and
action.
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A play ought to be a just image of human nature.
--Dryden.
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6. The representation or exhibition of a comedy or tragedy;
as, he attends ever play.
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7. Performance on an instrument of music.
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8. Motion; movement, regular or irregular; as, the play of a
wheel or piston; hence, also, room for motion; free and
easy action. "To give them play, front and rear."
--Milton.
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The joints are let exactly into one another, that
they have no play between them. --Moxon.
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9. Hence, liberty of acting; room for enlargement or display;
scope; as, to give full play to mirth.
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{Play actor}, an actor of dramas. --Prynne.
{Play debt}, a gambling debt. --Arbuthnot.
{Play pleasure}, idle amusement. [Obs.] --Bacon.
{A play upon words}, the use of a word in such a way as to be
capable of double meaning; punning.
{Play of colors}, prismatic variation of colors.
{To bring into play}, {To come into play}, to bring or come
into use or exercise.
{To hold in play}, to keep occupied or employed.
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I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play. --Macaulay.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Play \Play\, v. t.
1. To put in action or motion; as, to play cannon upon a
fortification; to play a trump.
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First Peace and Silence all disputes control,
Then Order plays the soul. --Herbert.
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2. To perform music upon; as, to play the flute or the organ.
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3. To perform, as a piece of music, on an instrument; as, to
play a waltz on the violin.
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4. To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in
action; to execute; as, to play tricks.
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Nature here
Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will
Her virgin fancies. --Milton.
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5. To act or perform (a play); to represent in music action;
as, to play a comedy; also, to act in the character of; to
represent by acting; to simulate; to behave like; as, to
play King Lear; to play the woman.
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Thou canst play the rational if thou wilt. --Sir W.
Scott.
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6. To engage in, or go together with, as a contest for
amusement or for a wager or prize; as, to play a game at
baseball.
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7. To keep in play, as a hooked fish, in order to land it.
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{To play hob}, to play the part of a mischievous spirit; to
work mischief.
{To play off}, to display; to show; to put in exercise; as,
to play off tricks.
{To play one's cards}, to manage one's means or
opportunities; to contrive.
{Played out}, tired out; exhausted; at the end of one's
resources. [Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
706 Moby Thesaurus words for "play":
ALGOL, COBOL, FORTRAN, Grand Guignol, Passion play, Tom show,
abuse, accentuate, accompany, act, act a part, act as, act as foil,
act out, act up, acting, action, actions, activism, activity,
ad lib, affect, agree, air space, alphabetic data,
alphanumeric code, ample scope, amuse, amusement, angular data,
ante, ante up, antic, antimasque, ape, appear, apple-polish,
appliance, application, article, artifice, assembler, assume,
attention, audience success, autograph, back, ball, ballet,
barnstorm, be effective, be in action, be occupied with,
be responsible for, be unfaithful, beguile, behave, behavior,
belittle, belly laugh, bet, bet on, betting, bicker, big time,
binary digit, binary scale, binary system, bit, blank check,
blue story, bluff, bomb, book, bout, brainchild, broadcast drama,
brown-nose, bug, build up, burlesque show, butter up, byte,
calculated risk, call, call attention to, caper, caracole,
cardsharping, carouse, carry on, carry out, carry through,
carte blanche, cast lots, casting lots, cause trouble, cavort,
challenge, chance, charade, chord, chunk, clearance, cliff hanger,
closet drama, come out, comedy drama, command pulses, commands,
compete with, compiler, composition, computer code,
computer language, computer printout, computer program, concertize,
conduct, consider, contend with, contest, control signals,
controlled quantity, cooperate, copy, coquet, correcting signals,
counterfeit, court, cover, cover up, coverage, critical success,
curvet, cut a dido, cut capers, cut lots, cut the cards, cut up,
dabble, dally, dance, dancing, data, daytime serial, de-emphasize,
deal with, decathlon, decry, delay, delectation, delight, demeanor,
depict, deportment, deprecate, device, dialogue, dido, diminish,
direct, dirty joke, dirty story, discourse, disparage, disport,
dissemble, dissimulate, diversion, divert, do, do a bit, do with,
document, documentary drama, doing, double entendre, double-header,
doubles, draft, drama, dramalogue, dramatic play, dramatic series,
dramatize, draw lots, draw straws, drive, duodrama, duologue,
edited version, elbowroom, emote, emotionalize, emphasize, employ,
employment, enact, engage, engage in, engrossment, enjoyment,
entertain, entertainment, epic theater, error, error signals,
essay, ethnic joke, event, execute, exercise, exert,
experimental theater, exploit, extemporize, extravaganza, fade,
failure, fair copy, fake, feedback pulses, feedback signals, feign,
feint, fiction, fiddle, fiddle with, fiddle-faddle, fidget,
fidget with, field, film data, final draft, finesse, finger with,
finished version, first draft, flatter, flexibility, flicker,
flickering, flickering light, flier, flimsy, flirt, flop, flounce,
flutter, fluttering, fool, fool around, fool with, fortune,
four-flush, foursome, free course, free hand, free play,
free scope, freedom, fribble, frisk, frivol, frivolity, frolic,
full scope, full swing, fun, fun and games, function, functioning,
funmaking, funny story, gag, gambit, gamble, gambling, gambol,
game, games of chance, gaming, gammon, gasser, get top billing,
gimmick, give, giveaway, glancing light, go, go along with,
good one, good story, good time, great fun, gush, handbook, handle,
happening, have effect, have free play, have fun, have play,
hazard, hazarding, headroom, hesitate, hexadecimal system,
high old time, high time, highlight, histrionize, hit, hit show,
holograph, horse around, horseplay, howler, idle, impersonate,
impose on, improvisational drama, improvise, information,
input data, input quantity, instructions, interpret, jape,
jerk off, jest, jestbook, jet, jockey, join in, joke, kid around,
lambency, latitude, laugh, laughs, lay, lay a wager, lay down,
leeway, legitimate drama, let on, let on like, letter, light show,
literae scriptae, literary artefact, literary production,
literature, loiter, long rope, looseness, lot, lovely time, luck,
lucubration, machine language, make, make a bet, make a pretense,
make as if, make believe, make go, make light of, make like,
make music, make out like, make use of, malfunction, manage,
maneuver, maneuvering space, manipulate, manuscript, margin,
masque, masquerade as, match, match coins, matter, meet,
meet a bet, melodrama, merrymaking, mess around, mess with,
message, militate, mime, mimic, minimize, minstrel show, miracle,
miracle play, misbehave, misuse, monkey, monkey around,
monkey business, monodrama, monologue, morality, morality play,
motion, move, movement, movements, multiple messages, music drama,
musical revue, mystery, mystery play, no holds barred, noise,
nonfiction, numeric data, occupation, octal system, open space,
opera, operate, operation, operations, opus, original,
oscillograph data, output data, output quantity, overact, pageant,
panel show, panic, pantomime, paper, parchment, parlay,
participate, participate in, pass, pass for, pastoral,
pastoral drama, patter, pentathlon, percolate, perform, perform on,
perk, personate, philander, picnic, piddle, piece,
piece of writing, pilot, place, play a part, play a scene,
play against, play around, play at dice, play ball, play by ear,
play down, play for time, play of light, play on, play possum,
play the game, play the lead, play the ponies, play up, play up to,
play with, play-off, playact, playing, playlet, pleasant time,
pleasure, ploy, plunge, ply, poem, point, polar data, portray,
pose as, potter, practice, praxis, pretend, pretend to be,
printed matter, printout, problem play, proceed, procrastinate,
production, profess, psychodrama, punch-card data, punt, put,
put on, put on airs, putter, quiver, quivering, quiz show, race,
radio drama, raffle off, random data, range, reading matter,
recension, recreate, recreation, rectangular data,
reference quantity, register, render, revelry, review, revue,
rib tickler, riot, risk, risking, rival, rollick, romp, room,
room to spare, rope, ruly English, run, run around, runoff, scope,
scream, screed, scrip, script, scrive, scroll, sea room,
second draft, see, see to, sensational play, serial, serve, set,
sham, shoot craps, shot, show, sick joke, sidesplitter, sight gag,
signals, simulate, single messages, singles, sitcom,
situation comedy, sketch, skip, skit, skylarking, sleep around,
smatter, soap, soap opera, sociodrama, soft-soap, sortition, space,
spare room, spectacle, speculate, speculation, spew, spit, sport,
sporting, sportiveness, spotlight, spout, spray, spritz, spurt,
spurtle, squirt, stage play, stage show, stake, staking,
stall for time, stand pat, star, steal the show, steer, stooge,
story, straight drama, stratagem, stress, success, suck up to,
surge, suspense drama, swing, symphonize, tableau, tableau vivant,
take, take advantage of, take care of, take effect, take off,
take on, take part in, take up, talk show, tease, teleplay,
television drama, television play, temporize, the written word,
theater of cruelty, think about, think nothing of, threesome, tick,
tinker, toady to, tolerance, tomfoolery, toss, total theater, toy,
toy with, trade on, transcript, transcription, tread the boards,
treatment, trifle, trifle with, trip, troupe, truckle to,
tug the heartstrings, twiddle, twosome, typescript, uncertainty,
underline, underscore, undertake, unorganized data, upstage, use,
utilize, variety show, vaudeville, vaudeville show, vehicle,
venture, version, vie with, visible-speech data, visual joke,
vomit, vomit forth, vomit out, wager, wagering, waver, way, wear,
well, wheeze, wide berth, wield, wile, wing it, womanize,
word-of-mouth success, work, work together, working, workings, wow,
writing, yarn
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