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Definition of playa

"playa" is probably misspelled. Trying play instead Definition of play

1. play [ v ] participate in games or sports
Examples: "We played hockey all afternoon" "play cards" "Pele played for the Brazilian teams in many important matches"

Used in print:

(The Sun, [Baltimore],...)

Bill_Kunkel , Bob_Hartman and Ed_Keegan did the mound chores for the club down from West_Palm_Beach to play the game before 767 paying customers in Miami_Stadium .

(The Dallas Morning News,...)

Although he never gets to play while the clock is running , he gets a big kick - several every Saturday , in_fact - out of football .

But ask coach Darrell_Royal what position he plays and you 'll get the quick response , `` place_kicker '' .

He kicked several while playing at Stamford_High_School , including one that beat Anson , 3 - 0 , in a 1953 district game .

He missed the 1955 season because of an operation on the ailing knee , then played 77 minutes in 1956 .

Synonyms play Related Terms compete walk bid complete fullback bandy start field volley unblock die face_off tee_off ace retire exit play_out seesaw misplay develop cricket replay catch stroke gamble backstop bowl golf quarterback foul cradle croquet curl snooker revoke putt fumble develop play_out meet player playing playing_period

2. play [ v ] act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome
Examples: "This factor played only a minor part in his decision" "This development played into her hands" "I played no role in your dismissal"

Used in print:

(Frank Oppenheimer, "Science and Fear-- A Discussion...)

The most effective political inventions seem to make maximum use of natural harbors and are aware that restraining breakwaters can play only a minor part in the whole scheme .

What additional roles has the scientific understanding of the 19th and 20th centuries played ?

The major effect of these advances appears to lie_in the part they have played in the industrial_revolution and in the tools which scientific understanding has given us to build and manipulate a more protective environment .

(Jacob Robbins et al., "The thyroid-stimulating...)

There is some evidence that naturally occurring goitrogens may play a role in the development of goitre , particularly in Tasmania and Australia ( Clements and Wishart , 1956 ) .

Besides the presence of goitrogens in the diet , the level of iodine itself in the diet plays a major role in governing the activity of the thyroid_gland .

Synonyms play Related Terms act

3. play [ n ] a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
Examples: "he wrote several plays but only one was produced on Broadway"

Used in print:

(The Providence Journal...)

The dialogue is sharp , witty and candid - typical `` do n't eat the daisies '' material - which has stamped the author throughout her books and plays , and it was obvious that the Theatre-by-the-Sea audience liked it .

Not altogether a successful play , `` Epitaph_for_George_Dillon '' overcomes through sheer vitality and power what in a lesser work might be crippling .

Wallace_Gray has directed a difficult play here , usually well , but with just a_bit too much physical movement in the first act for my taste .

(William G. Pollard, Physicist and Christian....)

The situation in which we find ourselves is brought_out with dramatic force in Arthur_Miller 's play The_Crucible , which deals with the Salem witch trials .

As the play opens the audience is introduced to the community of Salem in Puritan America at the end of the eighteenth century .

Synonyms play drama dramatic_play Related Terms dramatic_composition playlet theater_of_the_absurd satyr_play grand_guignol miracle_play morality_play mystery_play Passion_play act stage_direction drama act dramatize dramatize

4. play [ v ] play (music) on an instrument
Examples: "The band played all night long"

Used in print:

(Chicago Daily Tribune...)

Certainly not in Orchestra_hall where he has played countless recitals , and where Thursday night he celebrated his 20th season with the Chicago_Symphony_orchestra , playing the Brahms_Concerto with his own slashing , demon-ridden cadenza melting into the high , pale , pure and lovely song with which a violinist unlocks the heart of the music , or forever finds it closed .

Not the noblest performance we have heard him play , or the most spacious , or even the most eloquent .

(High Fidelity, 11:10...)

Every detail in his interpretation has been beautifully thought_out , and of these I would especially cite the delicious landler touch the pianist brings to the fifth variation ( an obvious indication that he is playing with Viennese musicians ) , and the gossamer shading throughout .

Helmut_Roloff , playing with a group of musicians from the Bayreuth_Ensemble , gives a sturdy reading , in much the same vein as that of the last_mentioned pianists .

Synonyms play Related Terms perform sound_off accompany bow symphonize swing music musician playing

5. play [ v ] play a role or part
Examples: "Gielgud played Hamlet" "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role" "She played the servant to her husband's master"

Used in print:

(Chicago Daily Tribune...)

Nikolai_Cherkasov , the Russian actor who has played such heroic roles as Alexander_Nevsky and Ivan_the_Terrible , performs the lanky Don_Quixote , and does so with a simple dignity that bridges the inner nobility and the surface absurdity of this poignant man .

(The Providence Journal...)

John_Heffernan , playing Larry_Larkin , the cartoonist , carries_the_show in marvelous fashion .

In_brief , Berman played himself and not Bolger .

(David Stacton, The Judges of the Secret Court....)

As Sir_Giles_Overreach ( how often had he had_to play that part , who did not believe a word of it ) , he raised his arm and declaimed : `` Where is my honour now '' ?

(John Dos Passos, Midcentury....)

I 'd have been more impressed if I had n't remembered that she 'd played Hedda_Gabler in her highschool dramatics course .

Synonyms play act represent Related Terms re-create enact impersonate act_out spoof make emote support masquerade performing_arts act act act actor acting theatrical_performance

6. play [ v ] be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children
Examples: "The kids were playing outside all day" "I used to play with trucks as a little girl"

Used in print:

(San Francisco Chronicle,...)

`` It is like handing a loaded .45 automatic to an 8 - year-old and telling him to run out and play '' , he commented .

(The Washington Post...)

He would come home in the evening tired and discouraged - in no frame_of_mind to play with their three children , or spend much time chatting with his wife .

(The Sun, [Baltimore]...)

`` As the mother of an autistic child who is lacking in interest and enthusiasm about almost anything , I have to manipulate my son 's fingers for him when he first plays with a new toy .

It looks more like they are going_to play at the beach instead of taking lessons on bettering themselves .

(The Providence Journal...)

It is a land of long fjords , few people , a single-lane road miles away - and of wild stags , Greylag_geese , wild swans , dolphins and porpoises playing in the waters .

Synonyms play Related Terms act skylark frolic horse_around dabble playing

7. play [ v ] as of melodies
Examples: "Play it again, Sam" "She played the third movement very beautifully"

Used in print:

(Chicago Daily Tribune...)

Certainly not in Orchestra_hall where he has played countless recitals , and where Thursday night he celebrated his 20th season with the Chicago_Symphony_orchestra , playing the Brahms_Concerto with his own slashing , demon-ridden cadenza melting into the high , pale , pure and lovely song with which a violinist unlocks the heart of the music , or forever finds it closed .

(Howard Fast, April Morning....)

It was my initiation to war and the insane symphony war plays ; for what had happened on the common was only terror and flight ; but this grinning , broken head , not ten feet away from me , was the sharp definition of what my reality had become .

(Leo Lemon, "Catch Up With" and "Something to...)

A biting , pithy parable of the all pervading hollowness of modern life , the piece has been set by Mlle_Lagoon to a sumptuous score ( a single motif played over_and_over by four thousand French_horns ) by existentialist hot-shot Jean-Paul_Sartre .

Synonyms play render spiel Related Terms make re-create replay prelude misplay modulate bugle reprise slur bang_out riff tongue fiddle rag jazz playing

8. play [ n ] a theatrical performance of a drama
Examples: "the play lasted two hours"

Used in print:

(The Providence Journal...)

It is into this household , one eroded by irritations that have tortured the souls out of its people , that George_Dillon enters at the beginning of the play .

Not altogether a successful play , `` Epitaph_for_George_Dillon '' overcomes through sheer vitality and power what in a lesser work might be crippling .

(William G. Pollard, Physicist and Christian....)

The audience leaves the play under a spell , It is the kind of spell which the exposure to spirit in its living active manifestation always evokes .

For this does not account_for the integral , elemental power of that which grows with abounding vigor as the play unfolds , nor does it explain the strange numinous sense of presentness which comes over those who watch the play like a spell .

(Frank Getlein and Harold C. Gardiner, S.J., Movies,...)

Each scene is shot straight through , as had been the universal custom , from a camera fixed in a single position , but in the outdoor scenes , especially in the capture and destruction of the outlaws , Porter 's camera position breaks , necessarily , with the camera position standard until then , which had been , roughly , that of a spectator in a center orchestra seat at a play .

Synonyms play Related Terms show musical curtain_raiser act

9. play [ n ] a preset plan of action in team sports
Examples: "the coach drew up the plays for her team"

Used in print:

(The Sun, [Baltimore],...)

When Robinson tried to stretch his blow into a triple , he was cut_down in a close play at third , Tuttle to Andy_Carey .

(The Dallas Morning News,...)

A Texas halfback who does n't even know the team 's plays , Eldon_Moritz , ranks fourth in Southwest_Conference scoring after three games .

Saxton has made only one second-half appearance this season and that was in the Washington_State game , for four plays : he returned the kickoff 30 yards , gained five yards through the line and_then uncorked a 56 - yard touchdown run before retiring to the bench .

Gannon contributed saving plays on the Falcons ' aerial thrusts in the late stages .

The Air_Force's , and the game 's , final play , was a long pass by quarterback Bob_McNaughton which Gannon intercepted on his own 44 and returned 22 yards .

Synonyms play Related Terms plan_of_action football_play basketball_play baseball_play razzle-dazzle knock_on

10. play [ v ] perform music on (a musical instrument)
Examples: "He plays the flute" "Can you play on this old recorder?"

Used in print:

(Hampton Stone, The Man Who Looked Death...)

He demonstrated by playing an imaginary piano , doing a staccato passage with a broadly exaggerated attack .

Synonyms play play_on Related Terms sound drum whirl chord pipe beat fiddle trumpet clarion skirl tweedle harp register music music

11. play [ v ] pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind
Examples: "He acted the idiot" "She plays deaf when the news are bad"

Used in print:

(The Christian Science Monitor,...)

( He played host at the Timex show already mentioned . )

(B. J. D. Meeuse, The Story of Pollination....)

After another two_weeks , the first young emerge , four to eight small daughters that begin to play the role of worker_bees , collecting pollen and nectar in the field and caring for the new young generation while the queen retires to a life of egg_laying .

Synonyms play act act_as Related Terms act act act act

12. play [ n ] a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill
Examples: "he made a great maneuver" "the runner was out on a play by the shortstop"

Used in print:

(The Dallas Morning News,...)

Gannon contributed saving plays on the Falcons ' aerial thrusts in the late stages .

(Rocky Mountains News, [Denver, Colorado],...)

Despite the 45 - degree weather the game was clicked_off in 1 : 48 , thanks to only three bases_on_balls and some good infield play .

Chico_Ruiz made a spectacular play on Alusik 's grounder in the hole in the fourth and Wert came_up with some good stops and showed a strong arm at third_base .

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch,...)

Kieffer , the only junior in the group , was commended for his ability to hit in the clutch , as_well as his all-round excellent play .

(James Thurber, "The Future, If Any, of Comedy,"...)

Nevertheless , like any other human_being upon whom the spotlight of the world plays continually , Khrushchev , the anti personality cultist , has become a comic actor , or thinks he has .

Synonyms play manoeuvre maneuver Related Terms motion stroke completion completion assist icing jugglery figure footwork obstruction jump takeaway mousetrap safety_blitz ball_hawking athletic_game steer

13. play [ v ] move or seem to move quickly, lightly, or irregularly
Examples: "The spotlights played on the politicians"

Used in print:

(Glayds H. Barr, The Master of Geneva....)

The firelight played over Eli 's flowing white locks and rugged features .

(Richard Ferber, Bitter Valley....)

A warm breeze played across it , moving it like waves .

Synonyms play Related Terms travel shimmer

14. play [ v ] bet or wager (money)
Examples: "He played $20 on the new horse" "She plays the races"

Used in print:

(Richard Tiernan, "Land of the Silver Dollar,"...)

Owen was surprised to see Mrs._Gertrude_Parker playing the one-arm bandits that were cunningly arranged by the entrance .

She sat_down and played two slots at_once , looking grim , as if bested by mechanical_devices , and Owen felt sorry_for the lay-sisters depending_on her support .

`` What you need is a steady martingale '' , the cowboy announced after watching Owen play .

`` What are you playing '' ?

Five came_up while Owen was listening to The Wrangler and he neglected to play , a loss of ten dollars .

Synonyms play Related Terms gamble underplay

15. play [ v ] pretend to be somebody in the framework of a game or playful activity
Examples: "Let's play like I am mommy" "Play cowboy and Indians"

Used in print:

("Editorials"...)

As the civic temper rises , the more naive citizens begin to play soldier - but the guns are real .

(Louis Zara, Dark Rider....)

On the Christophers ' lawn , little girls in white pinafores were playing grownups at a tea_party .

Synonyms play Related Terms simulate act

16. play [ v ] engage in recreational activities rather than work; occupy oneself in a diversion
Examples: "On weekends I play" "The students all recreate alike"

Used in print:

(R. F. Shaw, "The `Private Eye`"...)

Wolfe refuses to ever leave his own house , and spends most_of his time drinking beer and playing with orchids .

(Jay Williams, The Forger....)

It was strange stuff - it reminded me of the pictures of a child , but a child who has never played with other kids and has lived all its life with adults .

Synonyms play recreate Related Terms diversion

17. play [ v ] cause to happen or to occur as a consequence
Examples: "I cannot work a miracle" "wreak havoc" "bring comments" "play a joke" "The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area"

Used in print:

(Chicago Daily Tribune...)

The episode in which Sancho_Panza concludes the joke that is played on him when he is facetiously put in command of an `` island '' is one of the best in the film .

Synonyms bring make_for work play wreak Related Terms make pull_off effect induce raise stage bring_about work

18. play [ v ] emit recorded sound
Examples: "The tape was playing for hours" "the stereo was playing Beethoven when I entered"

Synonyms play Related Terms sound

19. play [ v ] engage in an activity as if it were a game rather than take it seriously
Examples: "They played games on their opponents" "play the stockmarket" "play with her feelings" "toy with an idea"

Used in print:

("Editorials"...)

In all the bitter in-fighting , the squabbles over election procedures , the complicated numbers_game that East and West played on the assistant secretaries ' theme , the gentleman from Burma showed himself both as a man of principle and a skilled diplomat .

(Howard Nemerov, "Themes and Methods: The Early...)

The trick these two play upon Jacoby reveals their want not simply of decency but of imagination as_well .

Synonyms play toy Related Terms act plaything

20. play [ n ] a state in which action is feasible
Examples: "the ball was still in play" "insiders said the company's stock was in play"

Used in print:

(Alex Gordon, The Cipher....)

One more muddleheaded play like that one and they 'd be leading him away .

Synonyms play Related Terms action

21. play [ v ] put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game
Examples: "He is playing his cards close to his chest" "The Democrats still have some cards to play before they will concede the electoral victory"

Used in print:

(Jim Thompson, The Transgressors....)

Now , he could only play the last card in what was probably the world 's coldest deck .

Synonyms play Related Terms deploy declare pitch cover

22. play [ v ] perform on a certain location
Examples: : "The prodigy played Carnegie Hall at the age of 16" "She has been playing on Broadway for years"

Used in print:

(Chicago Daily Tribune...)

Comic_Gary_Morton signed to play the Living_Room here Dec. 18 , because that 's the only time his heart , Lucille_Ball , can come along .

(The New York Times...)

Francois D ' Albert , Hungarian-born violinist who made his New_York debut three years ago , played a return engagement last night in Judson_Hall .

Synonyms play Related Terms perform performing_arts act

23. play [ v ] cause to be emit recorded sounds
Examples: : "They ran the tapes over and over again" "Can you play my favorite record?"

Used in print:

(Musical America, LXXXI:5...)

We attended the premieres of his concertos , symphonies , and suites ; we studied , taught , and performed his piano_sonatas , chamber_music , gavottes , and marches ; we bought his records and played them in our schools and universities .

Synonyms run play Related Terms run run

24. play [ n ] an attempt to get something
Examples: "they made a futile play for power" "he made a bid to gain attention"

Used in print:

(Peter Field, Rattlesnake Ridge....)

`` It 's the second time War_Ax hands made a play for that money .

Synonyms play bid Related Terms attempt bid

25. play [ n ] play by children that is guided more by imagination than by fixed rules
Examples: "Freud believed in the utility of play to a small child"

Used in print:

(Robert E. Lane, The Liberties of Wit: Humanism, Critici...)

I mean something more like Freud 's concept of the utility of `` play '' to a small child : he plays `` house '' or `` doctor '' or `` fireman '' as a way of mastering slightly frightening experiences , reliving them imaginatively until they are under control .

Synonyms play child's_play Related Terms diversion house fireman doctor

26. play [ n ] utilization or exercise
Examples: "the play of the imagination"

Used in print:

(The Department of State: A Fresh Look at the...)

He is appreciative of the expert help available to him and draws these resources into play , taking_care to examine at_least some of the raw_material which underlies their frequently policy oriented conclusions .

Synonyms play Related Terms use

27. play [ v ] consider not very seriously
Examples: "He is trifling with her" "She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania"

Used in print:

(Frieda Arkin, "The Light of the Sea," in The...)

Or it might have been the absent nephews she addressed , consciously playing with the notion that this was one of the summers of their early years .

Synonyms play trifle dally Related Terms consider dally

28. play [ a ] imagined as in a play
Examples: "the make-believe world of theater" "play money" "dangling their legs in the water to catch pretend fish"

Synonyms play pretend make-believe Related Terms unreal

29. play [ v ] behave in a certain way
Examples: "play safe" "play it safe" "play fair"

Used in print:

(Jim Thompson, The Transgressors....)

By failing to do as he was told instantly - to take_out a permit or return the gun to his car - he had played into Lord 's hands .

Synonyms play Related Terms act

30. play [ v ] use to one's advantage
Examples: "She plays on her clients' emotions"

Used in print:

(Jack Kaplan, "The Health Machine Menace: Therapy by...)

By preying on the sick , by playing callously on the hopes of the desperate , by causing the sufferer to delay proper medical_care , these medical ghouls create pain and misery by their very activity .

Synonyms play Related Terms exploit maneuver

31. play [ v ] manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination
Examples: "She played nervously with her wedding ring" "Don't fiddle with the screws" "He played with the idea of running for the Senate:

Used in print:

(Amber Dean, Encounter with Evil....)

Grosse muttered , his head down , one hand playing with the zipper on his jacket .

Synonyms play fiddle diddle toy Related Terms manipulate put_out entertain fiddler

32. play [ v ] perform on a stage or theater
Examples: "She acts in this play" "He acted in "Julius Caesar" "I played in "A Christmas Carol"

Synonyms roleplay play playact act Related Terms perform mime overact stooge underact dramaturgy act act act roleplaying actor acting barnstormer

33. play [ n ] (in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds
Examples: "rain stopped play in the 4th inning"

Synonyms period_of_play play playing_period Related Terms measure inning hole turn final_period over first_period second_period chukker third_period half period quarter set chukka athletic_game game

34. play [ v ] exhaust by allowing to pull on the line
Examples: "play a hooked fish"

Synonyms play Related Terms exhaust

35. play [ n ] movement or space for movement
Examples: "there was too much play in the steering wheel"

Synonyms play looseness Related Terms tightness movability slack wiggliness

36. play [ v ] behave carelessly or indifferently
Examples: "Play about with a young girl's affection"

Synonyms toy play flirt dally Related Terms act dally flirt

37. play [ v ] contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle
Examples: "Princeton plays Yale this weekend" "Charlie likes to play Mary"

Synonyms meet take_on encounter play Related Terms confront replay brush meet compete

38. play [ n ] verbal wit (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously)
Examples: "he became a figure of fun"

Synonyms fun sport play Related Terms wit drollery pun waggery jocosity

39. play [ v ] cause to move or operate freely within a bounded space, as of machinery
Examples: "The engine has a wheel that is playing in a rack"

Synonyms play Related Terms move looseness

40. play [ n ] gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement
Examples: "it was all done in play" "their frolic in the surf threatened to become ugly"

Synonyms frolic gambol romp caper play Related Terms diversion horseplay flirt teasing word_play game folly skylark caper

41. play [ n ] the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)
Examples: "his gambling cost him a fortune" "there was heavy play at the blackjack table"

Synonyms gambling play gaming Related Terms diversion vice bet game_of_chance sporting_life throw unlicensed_gambling bet_on

42. play [ v ] shoot or hit in a particular manner
Examples: "She played a good backhand last night"

Synonyms play Related Terms hit hook meet

43. play [ v ] employ in a game or in a specific position
Examples: "They played him on first base"

Synonyms play Related Terms use meet

44. play [ v ] make bets
Examples: "Play the reaces" "play the casinos in Trouville"

Synonyms play Related Terms bet bet

45. play [ v ] be received or accepted or interpreted in a specific way
Examples: "This speech didn't play well with the American public" "His remarks played to the suspicions of the committee"

Synonyms play

46. play [ v ] stake on the outcome of an issue
Examples: "I bet $100 on that new horse" "She played all her money on the dark horse"

Synonyms wager play bet Related Terms gamble bet_on raise see gambling stake bettor

47. play [ v ] discharge or direct or be discharged or directed as if in a continuous stream
Examples: : "play water from a hose" "The fountains played all day"

Synonyms play Related Terms discharge

48. play [ v ] be performed
Examples: "What's playing in the local movie theater?" `Cats' has been playing on Broadway for many years"

Synonyms play Related Terms debut performing_arts act

49. play [ n ] the removal of constraints
Examples: "he gave free rein to his impulses" "they gave full play to the artist's talent"

Synonyms free_rein play Related Terms freedom

50. play [ v ] use or move
Examples: "I had to play my queen"

Synonyms play Related Terms use promote meet

51. play [ n ] a weak and tremulous light
Examples: "the shimmer of colors on iridescent feathers" "the play of light on the water"

Synonyms play shimmer Related Terms change

52. play [ n ] the activity of doing something in an agreed succession
Examples: "it is my turn" "it is still my play"

Synonyms turn play Related Terms activity move start attack bat down lead ruff innings game

53. play [ n ] the act using a sword (or other weapon) vigorously and skillfully

Synonyms swordplay play Related Terms action fencing

Similar Spelling

  play
  ply
  ploy
  plea
  Plewa
  Pleau
  plo
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Definition of Plautus
Definition of Plautus_alle
Definition of plavix
Definition of play
Definition of play_a_joke_on
Definition of play_a_trick_on
Definition of play_along
Definition of play_around