Base verb
Phrasal verbs with play
The verb play combines with 8 particles to form everyday phrasal verbs. Each particle steers the meaning in its own direction — here they are with clear definitions and examples, so you can see the whole family at once.
8 phrasal verbs · 10 meanings
play against
1 sense- Face another person or team in a game or sport and try to win
play along
1 sense- Pretend to agree to deceive or appease someone
play around
2 senses- Experiment in a casual way
- Have casual romantic or sexual affairs
play back
1 sense- Replay a recording
play down
1 sense- Make something seem less important than it is
play on
1 sense- Take advantage of someone's weakness or fear
play out
1 sense- Develop or unfold over time
play up
2 senses- Cause problems by misbehaving or malfunctioning
- Act in a way that pleases someone or a group
Sink In — iOS & Android
Practice the play family in Sink In
Drill every sense of play with spaced repetition — recognition, particle cloze, and meaning recall — so the whole family sticks instead of blurring together.
- Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
- Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
- Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
1,300+ phrasal verbs26 particle patternsBuilt for B1–C2
