play
gb/plˈeɪ/ us/plˈeɪ/
A1
Anglais
~ 1300
Sens
0 sens
Verbe
A1
action
1
do something for fun
To do an activity, game, or sport for fun.
Schéma d’usage :
to play [a game/sport/activity]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'play' with 'do' or 'go' when talking about sports. Use 'play' for team sports and games (e.g., 'play football'), 'go' for activities ending in -ing (e.g., 'go swimming'), and 'do' for individual sports without 'play' (e.g., 'do karate').
Synonymes
participate (More formal and general; not limited to recreation.)
|
compete (Focuses on rivalry, often in sports or contests.)
Antonymes
work (Refers to activities done for a job or duty rather than for fun.)
Collocations
play football
|play games
|play outside
|play chess
|play together
Thèmes
daily life
|sports
|leisure
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The children love to play in the park after school.
- We usually play tennis on Saturdays.
- He plays video games every evening.
- They played cards until midnight.
- Let's play soccer before it gets dark.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I play football with my friends.
- We play games at school.
- The kids play in the garden.
- She plays tennis every Sunday.
- He plays with his dog.
Verbe
A1
action
2
perform music or song
To make music by using an instrument or singing.
Schéma d’usage :
to play [an instrument/song]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes omit 'the' before instruments (e.g., 'play piano' instead of 'play the piano'), except in some informal American English where omission is common.
Synonymes
perform (More formal; can apply to acting or other arts, not just music.)
Antonymes
listen (To receive music rather than create it.)
Collocations
play the piano
|play guitar
|play a song
|play music
Thèmes
music
|arts
|arts_entertainment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- She plays the violin beautifully.
- He played a song on his guitar.
- The band will play at the festival.
- Can you play this piece of music?
- They played softly so as not to wake the baby.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I can play the piano.
- She plays guitar very well.
- We play music at home.
- He plays a song for his friends.
- They play drums in the band.
Verbe
A2
action
3
act in a drama or role
To be a character in a movie, play, or show.
Schéma d’usage :
to play [a character/role]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may confuse this with general participation. Here, 'play' specifically means to act as someone else in a performance.
Synonymes
portray (More formal; emphasizes representing the character.)
Antonymes
watch (To view a performance rather than act in it.)
Collocations
play a role
|play Hamlet
|play the hero
Thèmes
arts
|entertainment
|arts_entertainment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- She played Juliet in the school production.
- He has played many famous historical figures.
- Who will play the villain in the movie?
- They played their parts convincingly.
- The actor is playing a detective in the new series.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I play a teacher in the school play.
- She plays the main role in the movie.
- He plays Hamlet on stage.
- They play two brothers in the film.
- We play characters in the drama.
Nom
A2
entity
4
theatrical performance script
A story for actors to perform in a theater or on TV/film.
Synonymes
drama (Can refer more broadly to serious stories, not always staged.)
Antonymes
improvisation (Performance without a written script.)
Collocations
stage play
|Shakespearean play
|school play
Thèmes
arts
|arts_entertainment
|education
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- We went to see a new play last night.
- The school is putting on a Christmas play.
- Shakespeare wrote many famous plays.
- This play is set in Victorian England.
- The play received excellent reviews.
Exemples pédagogiques
- We saw a play at the theater.
- The students act in the school play.
- I read a play by Shakespeare.
- They watch a play on TV.
- The play is about love and war.
Verbe
A1
action
5
start music or video device
To make music, video, or other media start on a machine.
Schéma d’usage :
to play [a song/movie/video]
Synonymes
start (General term for beginning something; not specific to media.)
Antonymes
stop (To end playback of media.)
Collocations
play a movie
|play an album
|play the radio
Thèmes
technology
|entertainment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- Can you play that song again?
- She played the movie from the beginning.
- They played the recording for us.
- I played my favorite playlist while cooking.
- Play the video so everyone can see it.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I play music on my phone.
- She plays a movie for her children.
- We play songs at the party.
- He plays videos on his computer.
- Please play that song again.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
play
API
GB/plˈeɪ/
US/plˈeɪ/
Syllabes et accentuation
play (1 syllabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (play)
Formes du mot
Noun
- Base: play
- Plural: play, plays
Verb
- Base: play
- 3rd Person Singular: plays
- Present Participle: playing
- Past: played
Famille de mots
Forms
plays
noun
playing
verb
played
verb
Related words
Negative and opposite forms
unplayable
adjective
Advanced or less common
playwright
noun
playfulness
noun
Expressions
play along
1/plˈeɪ əlˈɔŋ/
phrasal verb
pretend to agree or cooperate
To act like you agree or are helping, often to keep things calm or secret.
Exemples
- She decided to play along until she knew more about their plan.
- I didn't believe him, but I played along.
play down
1/plˈeɪ dˈaʊn/
phrasal verb
make something seem less important
To try to make people think something is less important than it really is.
Exemples
- He tried to play down his role in the project.
- Officials are playing down fears of a crisis.
play hardball
1/plˈeɪ hˈɑɹdbˌɔl/
idiom
informal
be tough and aggressive to win
To be very firm and aggressive to get what you want, especially in business or competition.
Exemples
- The company decided to play hardball in negotiations.
- The company is playing hardball in contract talks.
- If they want to play hardball, we can too.
- If you want results, you have to play hardball.
play it safe
1/plˈeɪ ˈɪt sˈeɪf/
idiom
avoid risk by being careful
To be careful and avoid taking risks.
Exemples
- Let's play it safe and take an umbrella.
- I decided to play it safe and take the train instead of driving in the snow.
- He decided to play it safe and invest in bonds.
- He played it safe by investing in low-risk funds.
play with fire
1/plˈeɪ wˈɪθ fˈaɪɚ/
idiom
take dangerous risks
To do something risky that could cause serious problems later.
Exemples
- If you cheat on the test, you're playing with fire.
- If you lie to the police, you're playing with fire.
- Investing all your money in one stock is like playing with fire.
- He's playing with fire by lying to his boss.
- He's playing with fire by investing all his money in one company.
- He’s playing with fire by lying to his boss.