View synonyms for

play for

Take part for a particular reason, as in We're not playing for money, just for fun . A special usage of this idiom is play for laughs , that is, with the aim of arousing laughter.
play someone for . Manage someone for one's own ends, make a fool of, dupe or cheat. For example, I resent your playing me for a fool , or He suddenly found out she'd been playing him for a sucker . This usage employs play in the sense of “exhaust a hooked fish,” that is, manage it on the line so that it exhausts itself. [Mid-1600s]

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Example Sentences

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Crespi and Harvard-Westlake play for the Mission League baseball title next week, but on Saturday, players from the two teams helped support Northridge Little League’s Challenger Division.

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You can watch Westwood play for Majesticks GC, external at the LIV Golf event in Mexico this weekend, on ITVX.

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Van Dijk's impressive performances finally saw him offered a chance to play for the second team, when he was playing for Willem's under-19s.

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"He could play for any team in the world and I'm surprised Manchester United or Manchester City, Barcelona or Real Madrid didn't come in and buy him rather than Liverpool at the time."

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Marcus Rashford feels it is unlikely he will play for Manchester United again under Ruben Amorim, but will not be rushed into making a decision about his future.

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Related Words

play footsie play for keeps

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