toy with

phrasal verb

toyed with; toying with; toys with

: to think about (something) briefly and not very seriously

I toyed with the idea of moving to France but ended up staying here.

: to move or touch (something) with one's fingers often without thinking

She toyed with her hair while she talked on the phone.

: to deal with or control (someone or something) in a clever and usually unfair or selfish way

Do you really love me, or are you just toying with me?

Don't toy with my emotions.

Examples of toy with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Also, sensory play can keep them engaged for a long time and is really important at this age, so be on the hunt for toys with different textures and shapes that are safe for babies to touch and chew (since everything goes into their mouth). —

Maya Polton, Parents, 11 May 2024 In a complete reversal of fortune, the company has lost well over 99% of its value—its stock is currently worth about $35 million— amid mounting financial woes and is now toying with bankruptcy. —

Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 10 May 2024 Groff and her husband, Clay Kallman, had toyed with the idea of opening a bookstore in Gainesville for more than a decade, but the timing never felt right. —

Alexandra Alter, New York Times, 10 May 2024 Scottie Scheffler, who seemingly has toyed with the competition on the PGA Tour this season on route to the world’s No. 1 ranking, won’t be in Charlotte. —

Steve Lyttle, Charlotte Observer, 9 May 2024 For years, the city of Elk Grove and the Sacramento Zoological Society have toyed with the possibility of moving Sacramento’s only zoo from its original stomping ground to a bare site in south Elk Grove at Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway. —

Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024 Being toyed with by a potential partner is especially damaging. —

Danielle Sukenik, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2024 There’s an almost mathematical playfulness to the way Hamaguchi shuffles characters and identities and toys with repetition and substitution. —

Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 3 May 2024 An amateur student of astrology, Haley (Harriet Slater) warns them off toying with somebody else’s cards, but Elise convinces her to do readings for each member of the group. —

Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 2 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toy with.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.