Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Log in /Sign up
English (US)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning ofplay in English

playverb (ENJOY)

A1[I ]
When you play,especially as achild, youspendtime doing anenjoyable and/orentertainingactivity:
play withThechildrenspent theafternoon playing withtheir newtoys.
Mydaughter used to play with thekids nextdoor.
More examplesFewer examples

playverb (GAME)

A1[I orT ]
to takepart in agame or otherorganizedactivity:
Do youwant to playcards?
playsomething withsomeoneDo youwant to playsoccer with us?
play inIrene won't beable to play in thetennismatch onSaturday.
play forWhichteam do you play for?
Luke playscenter(= plays in thatposition within theteam).
B1[T ]
tocompete against aperson orteam in agame:
Who are the Giants playing nextweek?
[T ]
tohit orkick aball in agame:
playsomething tosomeoneHe played theball back to thegoalkeeper.
A goodpoolplayertakestimedeciding whichshot to play.
[T ]
(in acardgame) tochoose acard from theones you areholding and put it down on thetable:
She played theace ofspades.
More examplesFewer examples

playverb (ACT)

play toScottish Opera played tofullhouses everynight.
I didn'trealize that "Macbeth" was playing(= beingperformed) at thefestival.
In themovieversion, Branagh played thehero.
play hostWould youmind playinghost(=entertaining theguests)?
play dead
play dumb
play a joke/trick
B2
todeceive someone to make themlaugh or inorder to get anadvantage over them:
play a joke onSheloves playingpracticaljokes on herfriends.
See more
play a part
B2
tohelp toachieve something:
play a part inMythanks to everyone who has played apart insaving thehospital.
See more
More examplesFewer examples

playverb (PRODUCE SOUNDS/PICTURES)

Helearned to play theclarinet at theage of ten.
[+ two objects ]Play us asong!/Play asongfor us!
On Radio London they playAfrican andSouth Americanmusic as well asrock andpop.
They couldhear ajazzband playing in thedistance.
Play the last fewminutes of thevideo again.
More examplesFewer examples

playnoun (ACTING)

A2[C ]
apiece of writing that isintended to beacted in atheater or onradio ortelevision:
aradio play
"Did yousee the play(= theperformance of the play) onThursday?" "No, I went onWednesdaynight."
More examplesFewer examples

playnoun (GAME)

[U ]
theactivity of takingpart in asport or agame:
Rainstopped play during thefinal of theNational Tennis Championship.
[C ]US
aplan or asmall set ofactions in asport:
The newpitcher made agreat play on thatthrow to firstbase.
in play
If aball orpuck is in play, it is in aposition where it can behit,kicked, orthrown:
Shemanaged tokeep theball in play.
See more
out of play
If aball orpuck is out of play, it is not in aposition where it can behit,kicked, orthrown:
Theball had gone out of play.
See more
More examplesFewer examples
(Definition ofplay from theCambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

play | Intermediate English

playverb (COMPETE)

[I/T ]
to takepart in agame or otherorganizedactivity:
[I ]Whatteam does she play for?
[I/T ]
If you play aperson orteam, youcompete against them:
[T ]We’re going to thestadium tosee New York play Chicago.
[I/T ]
If you play theball or ashot, youhit orkick theball:
[T ]Ingolf, you have to taketime todecide how to playdifficultshots.
[I/T ]
In acardgame, to play acard is tochoose it from theones you areholding and put it down on thetable.

playverb (ACT)

toperform as acharacter in a play ormovie, or (of aperformance) to beshown:
[T ]She played thepart of abeautiful andbrilliantscientist.
[I ]What’s playing at(= beingshown at) thelocalmovietheaters?
To play is also tobehave orpretend in aparticular way,esp. toproduce aneffect orresult:
[L ]Don’t playdumb with me(=pretend you don’tknow anything) – youknow very well whathappened!
To play canmean toinfluence or have aneffect on:
[T ]Thepresidentdenied thatpolitics played anypart in hisdecision toappoint a woman to theSupremeCourt.
play a joke onsomeone(alsoplay a trick onsomeone)
To play ajoke on someone or play atrick on someone is todeceive someone foramusement or inorder to get anadvantage:
Sheloves to playjokes on herfriends.

playverb (PRODUCE SOUNDS/PICTURES)

[I/T ]She plays (thepiano)beautifully.
[T ]I was just playing mystereo.
Ilearned how toplay theguitarbyear (= bylisteningrather than byreadingmusic).

playverb (RISK MONEY)

playnoun (ACT)

[C ] literature
astory that isintended to beacted out beforepeople who have come tosee it:
Shestarred in many Broadway plays in hercareer.

playnoun (COMPETE)

in play(alsoout of play)
If aball or somethingelse is in play, it is in aposition where it can be used aspart of theregularaction in agame orsport, and if it is out of play, it is not in such aposition:
[U ]She put theball in play inmidfield.
Insports, a play can also be aparticularaction or aplan for aspecific set ofactions:
[C ]Theschoolfootballteam has beenpracticing new plays allweek.
(Definition ofplay from theCambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

play | Business English

to havemoney,time, etc.available to use:
Swellingtaxreceipts have given thegovernment moremoney to play with over the last twoyears.
play by the rules
Workers should not berelegated topoverty if theywork hard and play by therules.
play by your own rules
to do things in the way that youwant,rather thanobeying therules of aparticularsystem:
Largemultinationalcorporations often play bytheir ownrules.
play catch up
totry to be assuccessful as otherpeople,companies, etc.:
play for high stakes
to takebigrisks inorder toachieve something that you reallywant:
The Prime Minister isplaying for highstakes, at therisk ofalienatingpublicopinion.
play (it) safe
todecide not to takerisks:
Thefederalgovernment often plays itsafe byfundingresearch that islikely tosucceed but may have only aslightimpact.
Thebiggestcompanies usually playsafe andhiretoplegalfirms from London or New York.
play the (money/stock) market
play a key/major/important role/part (in sth)(alsohave a key/major/important role/part to play (in sth))
to have a lot ofpower orinfluence in aparticularsituation:
Hisfinancialexpertiseplayed amajorrole in London City airport'sdevelopment.
IT had akeypart to play inmodernizing theorganization.
play the system
to use a set ofrules orlaws inorder to get anadvantage for yourself, in a way that may not befair:
If youknow how to play thesystem, there arevariouslegalloopholes to beexploited.
play to your strengths
to do things that youknow you are good at:
Inbusiness, you sometimes have tofollowyourinstincts and play toyourstrengths.
[C ] FINANCE
theact oftradingshares,bonds, etc.:
Institutionalinvestorsremained on thesidelines,refusing tomake anybigplays until adefiniteannouncement is made.
be at play
to have aninfluence in asituation:
Manyissues are at play here,including theimpact on theenvironment.
be in play
FINANCE
if acompany oritsshares are in play, they may bebought by othercompanies orshareholders:
In a corporate-drivendealenvironment,even "untouchable"bankstocks could be in play.
bring/call sth into play
tostart to use something for aparticularpurpose:
come into play
tobegin to have aninfluence on something:
Newfederalpensionlaws have come into play that couldaffect theretirementsecurity of many ofouremployees.
make a play for sth
totry to getcontrol of something:
Thegovernment has beenaccused of making a play foronlinebettingtaxrevenues.

See also

(Definition ofplay from theCambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofplay

play
If you haven't tried one yet, there's no better time to start playing.
It's up to me to go out there andplay.
FromESPN
The thing is, the crazy thing about all that is, he started from the firstplay and after that, it was nothing.
When weplay the way we want toplay, we're the better team.
He returned for anotherplay later in the quarter.
Play reminds us not to take life so seriously.
Ah, there's still 40 games toplay, there's still 50 games toplay.
FromESPN
He played in just 15 games in 2008-09, recording 12 points.
FromESPN
Eight games are played on each of the first two days.
He felt as if he had to carry the team through hisplay and also shotcalling.
FromESPN
The scoring drive covered 75 yards in nine plays and took 3:36.
But that's where the "smarts" come intoplay.
FromGizmodo
We know how good he can be, but sometimes he just makes these plays that just shock you.
Student projects doplay into it, but for those seriously into the project, it is a sport.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocationswithplay

play

These are words often used in combination withplay.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

aggressive play
In some sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually one whose role involves aggressive play.
big play
Clearly, what makes abigplay has more to do with its theme than the size of its cast.
conference play
During the season, she scored six power play goals (all of them were scored in conference play).
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
 

Translations ofplay

in Chinese (Traditional)
享受, （尤指兒童）玩，玩耍, 比賽…
in Chinese (Simplified)
享受, （尤指儿童）玩，玩耍, 比赛…
in Spanish
jugar, jugar a, jugar contra…
in Portuguese
brincar, jogar, jogar (contra)…
in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
（スポーツや試合）をする, 遊ぶ, （楽器）を演奏する…
oynamak, karşılaşmak, oyun oynamak…
jouer, interpréter, pièce [feminine]…
jugar a, practicar, jugar…
spelen, uithalen, het opnemen tegen…
நீங்கள் விளையாடும்போது, குறிப்பாக ஒரு குழந்தையாக, நீங்கள் ஒரு சுவாரஸ்யமான மற்றும்/அல்லது பொழுதுபோக்கு செயலைச் செய்ய நேரத்தை செலவிடுகிறீர்கள்.…
(विशेषतः बच्चों की गतिविधियाँ) खेलना, खेलना, किसी व्यवस्थित खेल में भाग लेना…
રમવું, રમતમાં ભાગ લેવો., કોઈ વ્યક્તિ કે ટુકડી સામે રમતમાં સ્પર્ધા કરવી…
lege, spille, optræde…
leka, spela, spelas…
bermain, melakonkan watak, membuat persembahan…
spielen, richten, ausspielen…
leke, spille, lure…
کھیلنا, کسی منظم کھیل میں حصہ لینا, مقابلے میں کھیلنا…
грати(ся), пустувати, грати…
играть, играть (на музыкальном инструменте), играть (о музыке)…
ఆడటం, వాయించడం, ప్లే…
يَلْعَب, يَعْزِف, يَلعَب…
খেলা করা, সংগঠিত কাজে বা খেলায় অংশ নেওয়া, খেলায় কোনো ব্যক্তি বা দলের সঙ্গে প্রতিযোগিতা করা…
hrát si, hrát, hrát to (na)…
bermain, main, memainkan…
เล่นสนุก, ร่วมเล่น, แสดงหรือเล่นบทบาทของ…
nô đùa, chơi, đóng vai…
grać (w/z), bawić się (w), grać (na)…
(게임, 경기 등을) 하다, 놀다…
giocare a, giocare, suonare…
Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

 

Browse

More meanings ofplay

New Words

More new words
has been added tolist
To top
English (US) Change
English (UK)English (US)EspañolPortuguês中文 (简体)正體中文 (繁體)DanskDeutschFrançaisItalianoNederlandsNorskPolskiРусскийTürkçeTiếng ViệtSvenskaУкраїнська日本語한국어ગુજરાતીதமிழ்తెలుగుবাঙ্গালিमराठीहिंदी
Follow us
Choose a dictionary
Contents
My word lists

To addplay to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign uporLog in
My word lists

Addplay to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

More
Go to yourword lists
Tell us about this example sentence:
[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2025 Movatter.jp