play at
phrasal verb
played at; playing at; plays at
1
: to do (something) in a way that is not serious
They were only playing at trying to fix the problem.
2
chiefly British
: to play by pretending to be (someone or something)
She liked to play at doctors and nurses as a child.
—often used in the phrase play at being (something)boys playing at being soldiers
3
British
—used to say in an annoyed way that one does not know the reason for someone's behavior
What is he playing at?
Examples of play at in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Harvard-Westlake 7, Norco 2: The Wolverines broke open a 2-2 game and will play at Bonita on Tuesday.
—
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
The Grammy-winning duo were playing at the Ice House venue on the night as part of the Sports Illustrated Revel at the Races concert ahead of the big race on May 4.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Although Teran didn’t grow up playing at Clark Park, volunteering showed him why the community refers to it as its town square.
—Eric Guzmán, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2024
The Current will play at the Houston Dash on Sunday, then at the Reign in Seattle on Wednesday, May 8.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
The teams will play at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 May 2024
The Vikings play at South Coast League champion Capistrano Valley in an intriguing Division 1 wild-card round game.
—Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 1 May 2024
The shot clock should increase the pace of play at the varsity level, while also making the ends of close games more exciting.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2024
End Early: Darius Robinson – Missouri The Niners need someone who can play at 5-technique (lined up off the tackle’s outside shoulder) if their Wide-Nine defensive front is going to work.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
The Grammy-winning duo were playing at the Ice House venue on the night as part of the Sports Illustrated Revel at the Races concert ahead of the big race on May 4.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Although Teran didn’t grow up playing at Clark Park, volunteering showed him why the community refers to it as its town square.
—Eric Guzmán, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2024
The Current will play at the Houston Dash on Sunday, then at the Reign in Seattle on Wednesday, May 8.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2024
The teams will play at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 May 2024
The Vikings play at South Coast League champion Capistrano Valley in an intriguing Division 1 wild-card round game.
—Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 1 May 2024
The shot clock should increase the pace of play at the varsity level, while also making the ends of close games more exciting.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2024
End Early: Darius Robinson – Missouri The Niners need someone who can play at 5-technique (lined up off the tackle’s outside shoulder) if their Wide-Nine defensive front is going to work.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play at.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near play at
Cite this Entry
“Play at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20at. Accessed 9 May. 2024.
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