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

And, oh, by the way, the team still plays at altitude. —Tim Britton, New York Times, 13 May 2025

How about these numbers — nine players who have played at least 15 games and have a batting average of at least .324. —Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025

But one romance felt particularly off to her: Maxie’s dalliance with Lucky Spencer, played at the time by Greg Vaughan. —Victoria Edel, People.com, 13 May 2025

There were doubts leading up to kick off as to whether Barca would be emotionally drained and also lacking physically thanks to a gruelling 120 minutes of play at the San Siro. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025

Rhymes for play at

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