play around

play around
1) PHRASAL VERB If you play around, you behave in a silly way to amuse yourself or other people. [INFORMAL]

[V P] Stop playing around and eat!...

[V P] There was no doubt he was serious, it wasn't just playing around...

[V P with n] Had he taken the keys and played around with her car?

Syn:
mess about, fool around
2) PHRASAL VERB If you play around with a problem or an arrangement of objects, you try different ways of organizing it in order to find the best solution or arrangement. [INFORMAL]

[V P with n] I can play around with the pictures in all sorts of ways to make them more eye-catching.

3) PHRASAL VERB If someone plays around, they have sex with people other than the person they are married to or having a serious relationship with. [INFORMAL]

[V P] Up to 75 per cent of married men may be playing around...

[V P with n] Robert was playing around with another woman.

Syn:
4) → See also play

English dictionary. 2008.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • play around — verb 1. commit adultery (Freq. 1) he plays around a lot • Syn: ↑fool around • Hypernyms: ↑cheat on, ↑cheat, ↑cuckold, ↑betray, ↑wande …   Useful english dictionary

  • play around — phrasal verb [intransitive] Word forms play around : present tense I/you/we/they play around he/she/it plays around present participle playing around past tense played around past participle played around 1) informal If someone who is married or… …   English dictionary

  • play\ around — • fool around • mess around • play around • monkey around v informal 1. To spend time playing, fooling, or joking instead of being serious or working; waste time. If you go to college, you must work, not fool around. The boys fooled around all… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • play around — v. (D; intr.) to play around with * * * [ pleɪə raʊnd] (D; intr.) to play around with …   Combinatory dictionary

  • play around —    to copulate casually    Usually with more than a single regular partner:     Not with the chauffeur... I don t have to dig down that far if I want to play around. (Chandler, 1939) …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • play around with something — play around with (something) to experiment with something. We were playing around with various sauces to go with the fish …   New idioms dictionary

  • play around with — (something) to experiment with something. We were playing around with various sauces to go with the fish …   New idioms dictionary

  • play around — ► play about (or around) 1) behave in a casual or irresponsible way. 2) informal (of a married person) have an affair. Main Entry: ↑play …   English terms dictionary

  • Play Around the Christmas Tree — Infobox Album | Name = Play Around the Christmas Tree Type = Cover album Artist = Play |225px Released = November 23, 2004 Recorded = October 2004 at Zoo Studios in Stockholm, Sweden Genre = Teen pop Length = 27:16 Label = Columbia Records… …   Wikipedia

  • play around (with someone) — 1. in. to aste time; to waste someone’s time. □ Stop playing around and get to work. □ Don’t play around with me! 2. in. to flirt or have an affair with someone. □ Those two have been playing around for months. □ …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”