Word of the Day: Play
To play is to enjoy an activity for the purity of the experience and for the fun of participating with other people in the activity.
- Children love to play.
- They love to play games.
- Children learn to socialize by playing with each other.
- Playing a sport is a good way to meet other people.
- Let’s play baseball.
- Or would you like to play soccer?
- It’s important to play by the rules.
- Playing a musical instrument is a good way to relax.
- Do you know how to play music?
- What songs do you know how to play?
As a verb, the word “play” is very popular when talking about a person’s contributions to a result, whether that result is positive or negative:
- Shelly has played a major role in the company’s success. (This sentence is in the present perfect tense.)
- Todd played no role in a positive third quarter, although he took credit for it.
- Human activity plays a huge role in climate change.
The word “play” can be used as a verb or as a noun. In the next set of examples, the word “play” is a noun:
- We went to see a play last night. (play = dramatic performance)
- There were several very good actors in the play.
- During the baseball game we watched last night, the center fielder made an important play.
- He made a good play.
- A play on words, such as a pun, creates a double meaning.
- In order to watch a video on YouTube, click on play.
The word “player” is a noun used to identify a person:
- He’s a good soccer player. (Use “player” for participants in team sports.)
- She’s a very good tennis player.
- Thomas Johnson was a major player in helping make a deal come together between the two companies.
There are other words that make use of or includes the word “play.”
- Leona has over 200 songs on her playlist. (play list = a list of songs to be played or listed on an electronic device)
- People who enjoy wordplay challenge themselves with crossword puzzles and word games.
- Game officials watched the replay to determine if the ball was out of bounds. (replay = a stored video segment of action during a game)
- Rover is a very playful puppy. (The word “playful” is an adjective.)
- Chuck playfully teases his coworkers. (The word “playfully” is an adverb.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with P page to see the list of all words starting with letter P. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
