toy with

phrasal verb

toyed with; toying with; toys with

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

I toyed with the idea of moving to France but ended up staying here.

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

She toyed with her hair while she talked on the phone.

: to deal with or control (someone or something) in a clever and usually unfair or selfish way

Do you really love me, or are you just toying with me?

Don't toy with my emotions.

Examples of toy with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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However, others point to some new and potentially intriguing wrinkles for Holmes after the veteran right-hander toyed with a couple of ideas late last season. —

Will Sammon, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024 Lionel Messi didn’t toy with defenders in the MLS Cup final. —

Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2024 During French colonial rule following World War I, Paris toyed with creating an independent Alawite state in eastern Syria, just north of the area that would become Lebanon, but the project failed. —

Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024 Throughout her career, the star has toyed with a variety of genres—from dark-pop to country to jazz. —

Christian Allaire, Vogue, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for toy with