play at

phrasal verb

played at; playing at; plays at

: to do (something) in a way that is not serious

They were only playing at trying to fix the problem.

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

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 Ellis is a 6-foot-8, 220-pound, 30-year-old forward from Wichita who played at KU from 2012 to 2016. —

Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2024 Bremner, who played at Scripps Ranch High School, moved into the starting rotation the second half of the season. —

Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for play at

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play at.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.