play false
— Verb
– English
～ conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end; "He bamboozled his professors into thinking that he knew the subject well"
play
— Verb
– English
～ consider not very seriously; "He is trifling with her"; "She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania"
play off
— Verb
– English
～ set into opposition or rivalry; "let them match their best athletes against ours"; "pit a chess player against the Russian champion"; "He plays his two children off against each other"
play around
— Verb
– English
～ work with in an amateurish manner; "She dabbles in astronomy"; "He plays around with investments but he never makes any money"
play out
— Verb
– English
～ deplete; "exhaust one's savings"; "We quickly played out our strength"
play
— Verb
– English
～ 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"
play out
— Verb
– English
～ perform or be performed to the end; "How will the election drama be played out?"
play
— Verb
– English
～ behave carelessly or indifferently; "Play about with a young girl's affection"
play
— Verb
– English
～ use or move; "I had to play my queen"
play down
— Verb
– English
～ understate the importance or quality of; "he played down his royal ancestry"
play back
— Verb
– English
～ reproduce (a recording) on a recorder; "The lawyers played back the conversation to show that their client was innocent"
play a joke on
— Verb
– English
～ subject to a playful hoax or joke
play
— Verb
– English
～ exhaust by allowing to pull on the line; "play a hooked fish"
play hooky
— Verb
– English
～ play truant from work or school; "The boy often plays hooky"
play it by ear
— Verb
– English
～ decide on one's actions as one goes along, depending on the situation; "She didn't know what to expect from her new job, so she played it by ear"
play
— Verb
– English
～ discharge or direct or be discharged or directed as if in a continuous stream; "play water from a hose"; "The fountains played all day"
play
— Verb
– English
～ stake on the outcome of an issue; "I bet $100 on that new horse"; "She played all her money on the dark horse"
play
— Verb
– English
～ 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"
play
— Verb
– English
～ perform music on (a musical instrument); "He plays the flute"; "Can you play on this old recorder?"
play
— Verb
– English
～ emit recorded sound; "The tape was playing for hours"; "the stereo was playing Beethoven when I entered"