How to Use play in a Sentence

play

1 of 2 noun
Definition of playnext
Synonyms for playnext
  • The play is based on a real-life event.
  • The two golfers were tied at the start of play yesterday.
  • Rain held up play for an hour.
  • I've gone to all of my daughter's school plays.
  • He wrote, directed, and starred in the play.
  • The book discusses the role of play in a child's development.
  • The chess match finally ended after three hours of play.
  • His fifth grade class is putting on a play about the first Thanksgiving.
  • Please, no talking during play.
  • The play got the crowd back into the game after a lull.
    — Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 2 June 2023
  • On the third play of the game, the speedy Atwell got behind the defense and caught a 42-yard pass from Stafford.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2023
  • There were 67 million tracks that banked less than 10 plays in the year.
    — Tim Ingham, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2023
  • Snag tickets to a West End play, ride the London Eye, and slosh around in the many parks.
    — Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 22 Oct. 2023
  • Well, Shakespeare’s plays have been the same for hundreds of years.
    — Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 July 2023
  • The play isn’t the thing but simply the pretext for disaster.
    — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Washington will run a lot of wheels and plays designed to stretch the speed of the defense.
    — Kevin Skiver, Detroit Free Press, 8 Jan. 2024
  • About a minute after his three-point play in overtime, Reaves poked away the ball from Kawhi Leonard.
    — Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
  • The play is performed by adult and student actors and is best for ages 6 and older.
    — oregonlive, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Instead, it’s scored in a similar way to match play in golf.
    — Indystar Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 27 June 2023
  • And Beau’s experience of watching the play begins to lay the groundwork for the final act of the film.
    — Vulture, 13 June 2023
  • Holding Seattle to 21 points was a fair effort, but this side of the ball needed to make a play late and couldn’t do it.
    — The Arizona Republic, 8 Jan. 2024
  • Connor Acosta took the pass from Gabe Holmes and flipped the ball to Patton, who raced down the sideline to complete the 50-yard play.
    — Nwa Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2023
  • Another defender sniffed out the play from the weak side.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2023
  • The Tigers got the ball back two plays later, as Joseph Stevens intercepted a deep pass and returned it 27 yards to the Rouge 38.
    — Wright Wilson, Detroit Free Press, 26 Aug. 2023
  • Only one of my visionary cross-field balls sailed straight out of play.
    — WIRED, 29 Sep. 2023
  • John Belushi used to play him back in the day, with Darrell Hammond portraying the author in a play a few years back.
    — Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024
  • Six plays later, Delacruz rumbled in for a 9-yard touchdown.
    — Erick Taylor, arkansasonline.com, 10 Dec. 2023
  • And then there’s a lot of play in there that occurs naturally.
    — Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Sep. 2023
  • All the courses on the list are private and don’t accept daily-fee or resort play.
    — Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 23 June 2023
  • Some folks are selected to stay onstage as the play recommences, seated among the cast as Thomas makes his plea to a town hall.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
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play

2 of 2 verb
  • It's your turn to play.
  • The children were playing in the yard.
  • No one dares to play chess with him.
  • Did you play any sports in high school?
  • The children were playing hide-and-seek.
  • He played by himself in his room.
  • Can Sara come out and play?
  • I have a chess set. Do you want to play?
  • He played in every major tournament this year.
  • She hurt her wrist but decided to continue playing.
  • So the golf course is big and open but plays very tight.
    — Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2023
  • In the scene, the women are watching the men play a game.
    — Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023
  • Trump was said to be dining on the patio in the evening and playing golf the next day.
    — Jacqueline Alemany, Josh Dawsey and Spencer S. Hsu, Anchorage Daily News, 28 June 2023
  • For the sixth time in the past eight seasons, Watt failed to play in more than half of his team’s games.
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024
  • Four plays later, McClain did it again to give the Knights at least a long shot for the win.
    — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 1 Oct. 2023
  • The Florida native has not played since the loss at Ole Miss on Oct. 7.
    — Scottie Bordelon, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Still, these toys held up even when our kids played roughly with them.
    — Julia Pelly, Parents, 24 Oct. 2023
  • On April 27, Suzanna Son, who was set to play a cult member in the series, left the drama.
    — Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 5 June 2023
  • But much like last season, injuries played a role in reducing the team's strength down the stretch.
    — Jenna Ortiz, The Arizona Republic, 28 Aug. 2023
  • The Knicks were one of four teams that played without a jersey partner last season.
    — Kurt Badenhausen, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
  • As Rage proved on their brief 2022 reunion tour, nobody plays Rage like Rage.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Know your soil Soil type plays a crucial role in the amount of water that can be absorbed and retained.
    — Lauren David, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Both have played together on the same club and recreational teams.
    — Ivan Orozco, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Dec. 2023
  • The movie stars Scout Taylor-Compton in a triple-role, playing three siblings.
    — Mike Rose, cleveland, 27 Aug. 2023
  • All but four of Spain’s starters Tuesday play for Barcelona, as do two other players.
    — USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The actor—who plays Ken in the movie that will likely be one of the summer’s blockbusters—wore a pastel pink Gucci suit.
    — Justin Ray, Robb Report, 10 July 2023
  • In his first three games as a major leaguer, the infield prospect is 5-for-12 at the plate while playing both second base and third.
    — Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2023
  • Mirren has played a big part in changing the way women think about aging.
    — Hannah Coates, Vogue, 30 Sep. 2023
  • Her two older sisters, May-Chin and May-Sian, both played piano.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2024
  • How to play the Mega Millions Mega Millions tickets cost $2 per play.
    — Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 10 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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