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

Some people like a little more wiggle room around the band, while others like it a bit more snug; play around with the your sister size. —Bianca London, Glamour, 28 Mar. 2025

Republicans hold 218 seats in the House versus the 213 seats held by Democrats, leaving them with only a two-vote margin to play around with. —Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2025

Eury Perez is expected to be cleared to play around the All-Star Break. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025

Any to-be-wed can play around with this dress code to add some luck to their wedding day. —Shelby Wax, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for play around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background