play

verb
plā

To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.

Example

“The children played in the park.”

Other meanings

To toy or trifle; to act with levity or thoughtlessness; to be careless.
“Don't play with your food!”
To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
“He plays on three teams.”

Example sentences

“You can't win if you don't play.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0
“Shall we see how it plays out?”
Tatoeba · Igider · CC0
“Just lay back and watch it like a play.”
Tatoeba · AmarMecheri · CC0

Word history

From Old English "plegian".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “play” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.