- 1[uncountable] things that people, especially children, do for pleasure rather than as work the happy sounds of children at play the importance of learning through play a play area in theater
- 2[countable] a piece of writing performed by actors in a theater or on television or radio to put on (= perform) a play a play by Shakespeare a radio play see morality play, mystery play, passion play
- 3[uncountable] the playing of a game Rain stopped play. There was some excellent play in yesterday's match. The spectators were asked to be quiet during play. see fair play
- 4[countable] an action or move in a game a defensive play see pass play, run play in rope
- 5[uncountable] the possibility of free and easy movement We need more play in the rope. activity/influence
- 6[uncountable] the activity or operation of something; the influence of something on something else the free play of market forces The financial crisis has brought new factors into play. Personal feelings should not come into play when you are making business decisions. of light/a smile
- 7[uncountable] (literary) a light, quick movement that keeps changing the play of sunlight on water Idioms
children
it is not healthy to spend all your time working; you need to relax too
to be very easy to do, so not even a child would find it difficult
to make use of something Chess is a game that calls into play all your powers of concentration.
(of a ball) inside/outside the area allowed by the rules of the game She just managed to keep the ball in play.
to try to obtain something; to do things that are intended to produce a particular result She was making a play for the sales manager's job.
the humorous use of a word or phrase that can have two different meanings synonym pun
Check pronunciation: play