play at
phrasal verb
played at; playing at; plays at
1
: to do (something) in a way that is not serious
They were only playing at trying to fix the problem.
2
chiefly British
: to play by pretending to be (someone or something)
She liked to play at doctors and nurses as a child.
—often used in the phrase play at being (something)boys playing at being soldiers
3
British
—used to say in an annoyed way that one does not know the reason for someone's behavior
What is he playing at?
Examples of play at in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Saturday’s matchup will mark the first women’s basketball game played at the United Center.
—
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
Sara Ashwood traveled roughly 500 miles from Las Vegas to watch her favorite team play at Sutter Health Park on Tuesday night.
—Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2025
Teams will play 14 games, not including the June 19-22 Admiral Shelton Tournament, which will be played at Hickman Field, La Jolla Country Day and University City.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2025
University City will play Dos Pueblos, a 10-2 winner over St. Anthony.
Venice 5, Trinity Classical 2: Canon King had a double and triple and Daniel Quiroz added two hits and two RBIs for Venice, which will play at Mt. Carmel on Thursday.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for play at
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Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
Sara Ashwood traveled roughly 500 miles from Las Vegas to watch her favorite team play at Sutter Health Park on Tuesday night.
—Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 4 June 2025
Teams will play 14 games, not including the June 19-22 Admiral Shelton Tournament, which will be played at Hickman Field, La Jolla Country Day and University City.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2025
University City will play Dos Pueblos, a 10-2 winner over St. Anthony.
Venice 5, Trinity Classical 2: Canon King had a double and triple and Daniel Quiroz added two hits and two RBIs for Venice, which will play at Mt. Carmel on Thursday.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for play at
Cite this Entry
“Play at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20at. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
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