play around

idiom

1

: to have sex with someone who is not one's husband, wife, or regular partner

He's not the kind of guy who plays around.

—often + on

She's been playing around on her husband.

—often + with

She's been playing around with one of her coworkers.

2

: to deal with or treat something in a careless way

When it comes to protecting his family, he doesn't play around.

—often + with

You can't play around with diabetes; it's a very serious disease.

3

: to use or do something in a way that is not very serious

It's time to stop playing around and get busy.

—often + on

I spent the evening playing around on the piano/computer/Internet.

—often + with

I'm not really a painter; I just like to play around with paints.

4

: to move or change something or to think about something in different ways often in order to find out what would work best

—+ with

I see you've been playing around with the living room furniture again.

The supervisor played around with our work schedules this week.

We played around with the idea for a while but eventually realized that it just wouldn't work.

Examples of play around in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Aquarius January 20 – February 18 Give yourself permission to play around at this time. —Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 13 June 2024

Also, Nile was saying David was open to experiment and play around with anything. —Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 7 June 2024

The group then went on to play around half a minute of the norteño track. —Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 21 May 2024

Video highlights from throughout Travis’s career will also play around Dupré’s performances. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 15 May 2024