Definition of "play" []

• To occupy oneself in amusement, sport, or other recreation: children playing with toys. (verb-intransitive)
• To take part in a game: No minors are eligible to play. (verb-intransitive)
• To participate in betting; gamble. (verb-intransitive)
• To act in jest or sport: They're not arguing in earnest, they're just playing. (verb-intransitive)
• To deal or behave carelessly or indifferently; toy. See Synonyms at flirt. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A retreat from complexity isn't a sign of stupidity, sheeple-hood or lack of an e-peen: honestly, it's perhaps the core pleasure of play, a notion lost to some professionals and scholars who have managed to leach the *play* out of what they do."
• "We're getting together tonight to chat about what's next, and to play: with both last night and last week being less than productive musically, we want to *play*."
• "It is by no means my intention to suggest that great writing is not desirable in the drama; but the point must be emphasised that it is not a necessary element in the immediate merit of a play _as a play_."