| Play 1. (n.) To engage in sport or lively recreation; to exercise for the sake of amusement; to frolic; to spot. 2. (n.) To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless. 3. (n.) To contend, or take part, in a game; as, to play ball; hence, to gamble; as, he played for heavy stakes. 4. (n.) To perform on an instrument of music; as, to play on a flute. 5. (n.) To act; to behave; to practice deception. 6. (n.) To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate; to act; as, the fountain plays. 7. (n.) To move gayly; to wanton; to disport. 8. (n.) To act on the stage; to personate a character. 9. (v. t.) To put in action or motion; as, to play cannon upon a fortification; to play a trump. 10. (v. t.) To perform music upon; as, to play the flute or the organ. 11. (v. t.) To perform, as a piece of music, on an instrument; as, to play a waltz on the violin. 12. (v. t.) To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute; as, to play tricks. 13. (v. t.) To act or perform (a play); to represent in music action; as, to play a comedy; also, to act in the character of; to represent by acting; to simulate; to behave like; as, to play King Lear; to play the woman. 14. (v. t.) To engage in, or go together with, as a contest for amusement or for a wager or prize; as, to play a game at baseball. 15. (v. t.) To keep in play, as a hooked fish, in order to land it. 16. (n.) Amusement; sport; frolic; gambols. 17. (n.) Any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement or diversion; a game. 18. (n.) The act or practice of contending for victory, amusement, or a prize, as at dice, cards, or billiards; gaming; as, to lose a fortune in play. 19. (n.) Action; use; employment; exercise; practice; as, fair play; sword play; a play of wit. 20. (n.) A dramatic composition; a comedy or tragedy; a composition in which characters are represented by dialogue and action. 21. (n.) The representation or exhibition of a comedy or tragedy; as, he attends ever play. 22. (n.) Performance on an instrument of music. 23. (n.) Motion; movement, regular or irregular; as, the play of a wheel or piston; hence, also, room for motion; free and easy action. 24. (n.) Hence, liberty of acting; room for enlargement or display; scope; as, to give full play to mirth. Thesaurus Entries ALGOL, COBOL, FORTRAN, Grand Guignol, Passion play, Tom show, abuse, accentuate, accompany, act, act a part, act as, act as foil, act out, act up, acting, action, actions, activism, activity, ad lib, affect, agree, air space, alphabetic data, alphanumeric code, ample scope, amuse, amusement, angular data, ante, ante up, antic, antimasque, ape, appear, apple-polish, appliance, application, article, artifice, assembler, assume, attention, audience success, autograph, back, ball, ballet, barnstorm, be effective, be in action, be occupied with, be responsible for, be unfaithful, beguile, behave, behavior, belittle, belly laugh, bet, bet on, betting, bicker, big time, binary digit, binary scale, binary system, bit, blank check, blue story, bluff, bomb, book, bout, brainchild, broadcast drama, brown-nose, bug, build up, burlesque show, butter up, byte, calculated risk, call, call attention to, caper, caracole, cardsharping, carouse, carry on, carry out, carry through, carte blanche, cast lots, casting lots, cause trouble, cavort, challenge, chance, charade, chord, chunk, clearance, cliff hanger, closet drama, come out, comedy drama, command pulses, commands, compete with, compiler, composition, computer code, computer language, computer printout, computer program, concertize, conduct, consider, contend with, contest, control signals, controlled quantity, cooperate, copy, coquet, correcting signals, counterfeit, court, cover, cover up, coverage, critical success, curvet, cut a dido, cut capers, cut lots, cut the cards, cut up, dabble, dally, dance, dancing, data, daytime serial, de-emphasize, deal with, decathlon, decry, delay, delectation, delight, demeanor, depict, deportment, deprecate, device, dialogue, dido, diminish, direct, dirty joke, dirty story, discourse, disparage, disport, dissemble, dissimulate, diversion, divert, do, do a bit, do with, document, documentary drama, doing, double entendre, double-header, doubles, draft, drama, dramalogue, dramatic play, dramatic series, dramatize, draw lots, draw straws, drive, duodrama, duologue, edited version, elbowroom, emote, emotionalize, emphasize, employ, employment, enact, engage, engage in, engrossment, enjoyment, entertain, entertainment, epic theater, error, error signals, essay, ethnic joke, event, execute, exercise, exert, experimental theater, exploit, extemporize, extravaganza, fade, failure, fair copy, fake, feedback pulses, feedback signals, feign, feint, fiction, fiddle, fiddle with, fiddle-faddle, fidget, fidget with, field, film data, final draft, finesse, finger with, finished version, first draft, flatter, flexibility, flicker, flickering, flickering light, flier, flimsy, flirt, flop, flounce, flutter, fluttering, fool, fool around, fool with |