1
as in recreates
to engage in activity for amusement
told her son that he needed some time to run and play in the yard after his hard work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in performs
to present a portrayal or performance of
played Hamlet in the campus production of the classic
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in mocks
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
stop playing the innocent, because I know that you were behind that prank
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in idles
to spend time in aimless activity
just played around while we waited for the bus to arrive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in manipulates
to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently
this is how we're going to play the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in puts
to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event
figuring that she had little to lose, she played her last few bucks on the state lottery
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in dramas
a written work in which the story is told through speech and action that is intended to be acted out on stage
we'll be putting on a school play using that stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in uses
the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose
the host's sense of humor was obviously in play during the awards ceremony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ruses
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
the guy at the bar made an unusually creative play to get her phone number
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of plays
Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Soil moisture also plays a huge role, with the MSU Forestry Extension adding that ample precipitation is required for the most robust displays of color.
—Kyle Reiman, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2025
Nutrition plays a role in several root causes of acne.
—Megan McIntyre, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Importance of Washing Your Face Washing your face plays an important role in overall skin health.
—Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 16 Sep. 2025
Meloni plays the team’s head coach.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
Star actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson who plays the charismatic chef and ex-convict trying to rebuild his life and reputation, will attend the Spanish event, next to co-writers and producers Jónas Margeir Ingólfsson and Hörður Rúnarsson of Act4.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 9 Sep. 2025
In the show, Cooke plays the regal Alicent Hightower and Glynn-Carney is her sniveling son, King Aegon Targaryen.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
Guillaume Marbeck plays Godard, while Aubry Dullin and Zoey Deutch play the legendary co-stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2025
Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
The Eagles have totaled 10 such plays through two games, second fewest in that span only to the 2023 season (9) within the Sirianni era.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Kickoffs have long been one of the most dangerous plays in the game and were four times more likely to cause a concussion than a play that involved running or passing, according to data from the NFL.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
The Panthers’ best plays were Arizona penalties.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2025
Her plays have been widely performed in Sweden as well as internationally.
—Sara Stridsberg
september 15, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
Asset-light franchisor models with predictable royalties and scalable structures remain among the most attractive plays in the middle-market M&A environment.
—Gary Occhiogrosso, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The Dolphins played three safeties on several plays.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
For now, the three youngest each sleep in their own pack-and-plays squeezed into their parents’ bedroom.
—Jeff Truesdell, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
In the film, Bajpayee plays the police officer while Jim Sarbh essays the role of the killer who goes by the fictional name Carl Bhojraj.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Soil moisture also plays a huge role, with the MSU Forestry Extension adding that ample precipitation is required for the most robust displays of color.
—Kyle Reiman, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2025
Nutrition plays a role in several root causes of acne.
—Megan McIntyre, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Importance of Washing Your Face Washing your face plays an important role in overall skin health.
—Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 16 Sep. 2025
Meloni plays the team’s head coach.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
Star actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson who plays the charismatic chef and ex-convict trying to rebuild his life and reputation, will attend the Spanish event, next to co-writers and producers Jónas Margeir Ingólfsson and Hörður Rúnarsson of Act4.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 9 Sep. 2025
In the show, Cooke plays the regal Alicent Hightower and Glynn-Carney is her sniveling son, King Aegon Targaryen.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
Guillaume Marbeck plays Godard, while Aubry Dullin and Zoey Deutch play the legendary co-stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
The rule made kickoffs more like scrimmage plays by placing the coverage players and blockers close together to eliminate the high-speed collisions that had contributed to so many injuries on the play.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
The Eagles have totaled 10 such plays through two games, second fewest in that span only to the 2023 season (9) within the Sirianni era.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Kickoffs have long been one of the most dangerous plays in the game and were four times more likely to cause a concussion than a play that involved running or passing, according to data from the NFL.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
The Panthers’ best plays were Arizona penalties.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2025
Her plays have been widely performed in Sweden as well as internationally.
—Sara Stridsberg
september 15, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
Asset-light franchisor models with predictable royalties and scalable structures remain among the most attractive plays in the middle-market M&A environment.
—Gary Occhiogrosso, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The Dolphins played three safeties on several plays.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
For now, the three youngest each sleep in their own pack-and-plays squeezed into their parents’ bedroom.
—Jeff Truesdell, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plays
Verb
-
Behind the figure stretches another sky chart, which recreates the night above Geneva on September 17, 1755—the date Vacheron Constantin was founded.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Get the recipe > Our contributing editor Fatima Khawaja recreates a childhood-favorite salad in this recipe that calls for feta and chaat masala.—
SAVEUR Editors,
Saveur,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Filling a role with an external candidate who performs that role for another company today certainly remains a valid, viable hiring method.—
Maureen Cawley,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The net effect is a reduction in the effective cost basis of the stock by the amount of the premium, potentially enhancing overall returns if the stock performs moderately well.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Student imitates Charlie Kirk's death and mocks him, goes up to statue where TPUSA members are and imitates his death again, and spits near them.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
YouTube's policies specifically prohibit content that revels in or mocks the death or serious injury of an identifiable individual.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The patch was created by combining nanophotonics technology, which manipulates light at the nanometer scale (one-hundred-thousandth the thickness of a human hair) to read molecular properties, with microfluidics technology, which precisely controls sweat in channels thinner than a hair.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
But outside of the ring, Christy hides and represses her lesbianism and winds up marrying her trainer Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who manipulates and physically abuses her.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Spracklin's call puts him in the majority among analysts covering the stock.—
Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
-
What really puts City Limits at the front of the pack, though, are the Saturday spareribs, which are cooked directly over a bed of hardwood coals and seasoned with nothing but salt.—
Robert F. Moss,
Southern Living,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The company has also been instrumental in the global commercialization of South Korean IP, with many popular films, K-dramas, K-pop bands and videogames crossing over or originating in the medium.—
Rob Salkowitz,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
For now, what the big outlets want to give us is bleak cookie-cutter prestige dramas like Black Rabbit, a show and restaurant that offer the empty calories of star power but no nutritional value.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That’s the spirit behind the AI Darwin Awards, which recognize the most spectacularly misguided uses of the technology.—
Leslie Katz,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Still, the recent rise in non-work uses suggests that a lot of the newest ChatGPT users are doing so more for personal than for productivity reasons.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Episode 4 finds both Ellen and Julia throwing themselves headlong into plans that require them to keep up major ruses.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plays. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
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