toy with

phrasal verb

toyed with; toying with; toys with

1

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

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

2

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

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

3

: 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

Sonos toyed with rolling back the update, but ultimately determined that wasn't possible. —Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 13 Mar. 2025

This opening directly toys with that theory, only to wink knowingly at viewers when it’s revealed that, actually, the girls are just playing a game of tag. —Abby Monteil, Them, 13 Mar. 2025

What made no sense, though, was toying with Shapiro and then snubbing him. —Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025

The league has been toying with this new digital system, and it will now be used in the 2025 season and beyond. —David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025