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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The indie crime thriller played at both the New York Latino and Guadalajara Film Festivals and tells the story of a beats producer navigating the Los Angeles underground hip-hop scene. —

Matt Minton, Variety, 18 Feb. 2025 Now in third place in the Big West, the Tritons play at conference leader Hawaii on Saturday. —

Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025 Now, two of them play at the collegiate level: Declan is a red-shirt freshman at Indiana University, while Kenyon is at the University of North Carolina. —

Emily Krauser, People.com, 17 Feb. 2025 In addition, 13 of the Big Ten’s 18 schools play at least 10 power-conference games this fall. —

The Athletic College Football, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for play at