play

play
{{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}}
noun
1 activity done for fun
ADJECTIVE
outdoor
creative, imaginative, pretend
PLAY + NOUN
area
equipment
house (usually playhouse)
room (usually playroom)
group (usually playgroup in BrE), scheme (BrE)

The local council runs some good play schemes.

PREPOSITION
at play

Children spend hours at play.

in play

I only said it in play (= not seriously).

2 drama
ADJECTIVE
one-act
stage
radio, television
musical
miracle, morality, mystery, nativity (esp. BrE), passion

The children always perform a nativity play every Christmas.

school
VERB + PLAY
review

The play is reviewed in most of today's papers.

PREPOSITION
play about

a play about teenage runaways

3 in sports
ADJECTIVE
excellent, good
bad, poor
fair
dangerous, dirty, foul, rough, violent

He was sent off for foul play.

VERB + PLAY
stop

Rain stopped play 40 minutes into the match.

PREPOSITION
in play

The ball is still in play.

out of play

He kicked the ball out of play.

PHRASES
at close of play, at start of play (in cricket)

At close of play he had scored 38 not out.

4 (AmE) an action or move in a game
ADJECTIVE
big

A double play ended the inning and the Red Sox were up.

final

the final play of the first half

defensive, offensive (both in American football)
running (in American football)
double, triple (both in baseball)

There were ten double plays completed.

VERB + PLAY
execute, make, run (in American football)

the team's ability to execute a play

He made several nice defensive plays.

They ran 10 plays inside the 30 in the fourth quarter.

call (in American football)

The offensive coordinator has called 60 running plays and 44 passes.

{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}
verb
1 of children
VERB + PLAY
let sb

The other children wouldn't let him play.

PREPOSITION
at (BrE)

Let's play at pirates!

with

The little girl was playing with her toys.

2 game/sport
ADVERB
brilliantly, superbly, well
badly, poorly
VERB + PLAY
learn to
teach sb to
be difficult to, be easy to
see sb, watch sb
PREPOSITION
against

These guys make the team very difficult to play against.

at

I've never played John at tennis.

for

He plays for the Chicago Bears.

in

She has played in every game this season.

with

She was playing cards with her mother.

3 music
ADVERB
beautifully, brilliantly, excellently, superbly, well
badly
together
live

The band will be playing live in the studio.

VERB + PLAY
learn to

I'm learning to play sax.

teach sb to
be easy to, be difficult to

a piece that is relatively easy to play

hear sb

Have you ever heard her play?

Play is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑actor, actress, ↑athlete, ↑band, ↑footballer, ↑fountain, ↑golfer, ↑music, ↑musician, ↑orchestra, ↑radio, ↑side, ↑song, ↑station, ↑team
Play is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ball, ↑bar, ↑baseball, ↑basketball, ↑blues, ↑bridge, ↑card, ↑cassette, ↑CD, ↑character, ↑chess, ↑chord, ↑circuit, ↑clip, ↑comedy, ↑composition, ↑concert, ↑concerto, ↑cricket, ↑defence, ↑dice, ↑disc, ↑drum, ↑DVD, ↑encore, ↑excerpt, ↑fanfare, ↑festival, ↑fixture, ↑football, ↑game, ↑gig, ↑golf, ↑hand, ↑havoc, ↑hero, ↑hockey, ↑host, ↑house, ↑hunch, ↑hymn, ↑instrument, ↑jazz, ↑joke, ↑lead, ↑lottery, ↑march, ↑market, ↑martyr, ↑match, ↑measure, ↑melody, ↑move, ↑movement, ↑movie, ↑music, ↑note, ↑part, ↑pass, ↑passage, ↑piece, ↑politics, ↑pop, ↑position, ↑rally, ↑recital, ↑record, ↑recording, ↑repertoire, ↑role, ↑round, ↑rugby, ↑run, ↑scale, ↑scene, ↑score, ↑selection, ↑set, ↑single, ↑snooker, ↑soccer, ↑soldier, ↑solo, ↑song, ↑sport, ↑stroke, ↑symphony, ↑system, ↑tackle, ↑tape, ↑team, ↑tennis, ↑tournament, ↑track, ↑trick, ↑truant, ↑tune, ↑venue, ↑video, ↑villain, ↑waltz, ↑work

Collocations dictionary. 2013.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • play — [plā] vi. [ME plein < OE plegan, to play, be active] 1. to move lightly, rapidly, or erratically; flutter [sunlight playing on the waves] 2. to amuse oneself, as by taking part in a game or sport; engage in recreation 3. to take active part in …   English World dictionary

  • Play — may refer to: * Play (activity), enjoyment by humans * Play (animal behaviour)‎ * Play (theatre), structured literary form or theatreIn music* Play 99.6 (radio), Jordan s No.1 Hit Music Radio Station * Play (Mexican band) (or Grupo Play ),… …   Wikipedia

  • play — ► VERB 1) engage in games or other activities for enjoyment rather than for a serious or practical purpose. 2) take part in (a sport or contest). 3) compete against. 4) take a specified position in a sports team. 5) represent (a character) in a… …   English terms dictionary

  • Play — Play, n. 1. Amusement; sport; frolic; gambols. [1913 Webster] 2. Any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement or diversion; a game. [1913 Webster] John naturally loved rough play. Arbuthnot. [1913 Webster] 3. The act or practice of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Play — Play, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Played}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Playing}.] [OE. pleien, AS. plegian, plegan, to play, akin to plega play, game, quick motion, and probably to OS. plegan to promise, pledge, D. plegen to care for, attend to, be wont, G.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Play — Play, v. t. 1. To put in action or motion; as, to play cannon upon a fortification; to play a trump. [1913 Webster] First Peace and Silence all disputes control, Then Order plays the soul. Herbert. [1913 Webster] 2. To perform music upon; as, to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • play³ — Beschreibung Multiplattform Spielemagazin Verlag …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • PLAY.FM — is an web radio and online audio database for DJ and club culture. DJ sets, radio shows and live recordings are collected and can be listend to on demand. The PLAY.FM studio and the office are located in the Museumsquartier in the 7th district of …   Wikipedia

  • Play 3 — Play³ Beschreibung Multiplattform Spielemagazin Verlag Computec Media AG …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Play³ — Beschreibung Multiplattform Spielemagazin Verlag Computec Media AG …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Play On — Студийный альбом Кэрри Андервуд Д …   Википедия

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