World Book 1997 4.0

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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: play - play-act</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="play"> play, noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. something done to amuse oneself; fun; sport; recreation. Ex. The children are happy at play. Play consists of those activities which are not consciously performed for the sake of any reward beyond themselves (Emory S. Bogardus). All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. <DD> 2. an act or move in a game. Ex. He made a good play at checkers. <DD> 3. turn to play. Ex. It is your play next. <DD> 4. the carrying on or playing of a game. Ex. Play was slow in the first half of the game. <DD> 5. the manner or style of carrying on or playing a game. Ex. Both sides showed brilliant play. <DD> 6. a story written for or presented as a dramatic performance; drama. Ex. "Peter Pan" is a charming play. A play, as we conceive of it ... is something which, by its nature, demands prose wherever prose will serve (Atlantic). <DD> 7. a dramatic or theatrical performance, as on the stage. <DD> 8. (Figurative.) action or dealing of a specified kind (now used only in fair play and foul play). <DD> 9. (Figurative.) action; operation; working. Ex. the lively play of fancy. He brought all his strength into play to move the rock. There was an engine in the room which was in full play. <DD> 10. the act of lightly or briskly wielding or plying (used especially in combinations). Ex. swordplay. <DD> 11. a light, quick movement or change. Ex. the play of sunlight on leaves, the play of light in a diamond. <DD> 12. (Figurative.) freedom or opportunity for action; scope for activity. Ex. to give free play to one's faculties. The boy gave his fancy full play in telling what he could do with a million dollars. <DD> 13. free or unimpeded movement; the proper motion of a piece of mechanism, or a part of the living body. Ex. the play of muscles. <DD> 14. the space in or through which anything, especially a piece of mechanism, can or does move. Ex. the play of a wheel on an axle. <DD> 15. gambling. Ex. to lose vast sums at play. <DD> 16. (Obsolete.) a particular amusement; game. Ex. The plays of children are nonsense but very educative nonsense (Emerson). <DD>v.t. 1. to take part in (a game). Ex. to play golf. Children play tag and ball. <DD> 2. to perform, do, or execute. Ex. He played a joke on his sister. <DD> 3. to represent or imitate, especially for amusement. Ex. to play spacemen, to play store. <DD> 4. to take part in a game against. Ex. Our team played the sixth-grade team. New York played Boston for the championship. <DD> 5. to cause to play; use (a person) in a game; include in a team. <DD> 6. to act (a part) in a dramatic performance or in real life. Ex. to play one's part well. <DD> 7. (Figurative.) to act or behave as or like; perform the duties or characteristic actions of. Ex. to play the host, to play the fool. Nor did the shift ... release a love of power for its own sake or an impulse to play the great man (Edmund Wilson). <DD> 8. to act the part of. Ex. to play Hamlet. The famous actress played Peter Pan. <DD> 9. to perform or act (a drama, pageant, or incident) on or as if on the stage. Ex. to play a tragedy. <DD> 10. to give dramatic performances in. Ex. to play the best theaters, to play the largest cities. <DD> 11. to perform (music or a piece of music) on an instrument or instruments. Ex. to play a symphony. <DD> 12. to perform on (a musical instrument). Ex. to play a piano. <DD> 13. to cause to act or work; keep in continuous motion or exercise; operate. Ex. to play a hose on a burning building. <DD> 14. to cause to move or pass lightly. Ex. The ship played its light along the coast. <DD> 15. to stake or wager in a game. Ex. to play five dollars. <DD> 16. to gamble or bet on. Ex. to play the horses. <DD> 17. to put into action in a game. Ex. Play your cards carefully and you will win the game. <DD> 18. to allow (a hooked fish) to exhaust itself by pulling on the line. Ex. M. A. Norden ... is shown playing a 137-lb. tarpon in a recent Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (Time). <DD>v.i. 1. to have fun; do something in sport; amuse or divert oneself. Ex. The kitten plays with its tail. The children played in the yard. (SYN) frolic, revel. <DD> 2. to do something which is not to be taken seriously, but merely as done in sport. <DD> 3. to make believe; pretend in fun. <DD> 4. (Figurative.) to dally; trifle; toy. Ex. to play with a new idea, to play with matches. He played with his watch-chain wearily (Dickens). <DD> 5. to engage or take part in a game. Ex. to play with skill. <DD> 6. (Figurative.) to act, behave, or conduct oneself in some specified way. Ex. to play fair, to play false, to play sick. <DD> 7. to make music; perform on a musical instrument. Ex. to play in an orchestra. <DD> 8. to sound. Ex. The music began to play. <DD> 9. to act a part on or as if on a stage; perform. Ex. to play in a tragedy. <DD> 10. to move lightly or quickly, especially with alternating or irregular motion. Ex. Leaves play in the wind. A breeze played on the water. <DD> 11. to change or alternate rapidly, as colors do in iridescence. Ex. the firelight playing on her red frock (John Galsworthy). <DD> 12. to move or revolve freely, usually within a definite space, as a part of any mechanism. Ex. The wheel plays in a track. <DD> 13. to operate or act with continued or repeated action. Ex. A fountain played in the garden. <DD> 14. to gamble. expr. bring (or call) into play, to begin to exercise; bring into action; make active. Ex. The intelligence and judgment of Mr. Ruskin ... are brought into play (Matthew Arnold). There is ... hardly a decision on such an issue that does not call into play an entire range of political and legal activities (Saturday Review). expr. in play, <DD> a. being used in the course of the game; in or during legitimate play. Ex. Walton tried another big kick, but the ball fell in play, and was well returned by Strand-Jones (Westminster Gazette). <DD> b. as a joke. Ex. He said it merely in play. expr. out of play, not being used; not in or during legitimate play. Ex. A runner cannot be tagged while the ball is out of play. expr. play back, to replay (a phonograph or tape recording), especially just after it has been made. Ex. We all laughed as we heard the tape recorder play back the conversation at dinner. expr. play ball. See under ball. expr. play by ear. See under ear. expr. play down, <DD> a. to make light of; de-emphasize; understate. Ex. They want to play down politics, play up "good government" and "responsible leadership" (Newsweek). <DD> b. to lower one's standards to suit the demands of others; condescend. Ex. Miss Holliday had won "a kind of immortality" with an art that never "played down" (New York Times). expr. play off, <DD> a. to play an additional game or match in order to decide (a draw or tie). Ex. We're going to play off for the Wolcott cup (Munsey's Magazine). <DD> b. to pit (one person or thing against another), especially for one's own advantage. Ex. to play off one party against another. expr. play on (or upon), to take advantage of; make use of. Ex. She played on her mother's good nature to get what she wanted. expr. play out, <DD> a. to perform to the end; bring to an end. Ex. to play out a tragedy. <DD> b. (Figurative.) to exhaust; wear out. Ex. The endless war was playing out both the men and the supplies. <DD> c. (Figurative.) to diminish; wear off. Ex. When their initial lure had played out, the pioneers of the West found other attractions to induce them to stay on (Ernest Gruening). expr. play the field. See under field. expr. play the game. See under game. expr. play up, (U.S.) to make the most of; exploit. Ex. Happy customers and favorable reviews are quoted, successful promotions of the firm's books are played up (Time). expr. play up to, (Slang.) to try to get into the favor of; flatter. Ex. to play up to a celebrity. expr. play with, <DD> a. to touch or finger lightly, by way of amusement. Ex. The Commissioner moved his legs, playing with a penknife (Graham Greene). <DD> b. (Figurative.) to act carelessly; do foolish things; treat frivolously. Ex. Don't play with matches. Montaigne ... could thus afford to play with life, and the abysses into which it leads us (Cardinal Newman). </DL> <A NAME="playa"> playa, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. (Southwestern U.S.) a plain of silt or mud, covered with water during the wet season. <DD> 2. (Geology.) the basin floor of an undrained desert which contains water at irregular periods. </DL> <A NAME="playability"> playability, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being playable. Ex. He continued to study each of the eighteen holes, to see what could be done to improve its playability (New Yorker). </DL> <A NAME="playable"> playable, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. that can be played. <DD> 2. fit to be played on. </DL> <A NAME="playact"> play-act or playact, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. to perform in a dramatic production. <DD> 2. (Figurative.) to make believe; pretend. <DD>v.t. to act (a part); portray. Ex. (Figurative.) just play-acting the bohemian (Punch). </DL> <A HREF="playacti.dic">NEXT</A>