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

The other biggest issue was that Hill had been playing with a torn ligament in his wrist, which led to surgery this offseason. —James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025

The Dons finish league play with three games against Point Loma (5-4 in the league) next week. —John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2025

Actress Halle Berry played with the Met Gala's theme of sartorial disguise on Monday in a body-hugging LaQuan Smith gown and a cropped tuxedo jacket, paired with a fishnet veil over her eyes. —Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 8 May 2025

Pacers slow start left big hole to dig out of Ahead of Game 2, Atkinson said the Pacers played with more force in the first game of the series. —Anthony Slater, New York Times, 7 May 2025