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

Hunter can supply the defense with a shutdown corner while still playing at least 10-15 snaps at wide receiver per game in certain packages, creating a dynamic duo alongside Malik Nabers. 4. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025

Alexandra and her older brother, Miko, who went to play at Pennsylvania State University, took to it most. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

Ducks star Trevor Zegras joked that the unique performance affected his play at the start. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Fans of the teams stationed here will use Kansas City as their base. Matches that will be played at Arrowhead won’t be known until December, and the teams that will use this area for their base camps a few weeks later. —Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 26 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for play at

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat