play with

phrasal verb

played with; playing with; plays with

1

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

Stop playing with that pen and pay attention to what I'm saying.

2

: to handle, change, or deal with (something) in a careless way

I played with the radio for a while but couldn't get it to work.

It's important to teach your children not to play with guns/fire/matches.

Don't play with my heart/emotions.

You have to take this seriously. You're playing with people's lives!

3

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

I played with the idea of moving to Chicago but ended up staying in New York.

Examples of play with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Beane spoke to the upward trajectory Milano played with late in the year, before giving a vote of confidence to the longtime starter for the upcoming year. —Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025

Gronkowski returned for the 2020 and 2021 seasons to play with Brady. —Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025

The carousel also featured a Polaroid photo of the pup, who joined the Johnson family in 2016, and more snaps of the dog licking and playing with Johnson. —Gabrielle Rockson, People.com, 25 Feb. 2025

The fight sequences are just as violent as the original show and play with Matt’s morality in such a poignant and beautiful way. —Jack Dunn, Variety, 25 Feb. 2025