play against
phrasal verb·1 sense·particle against
Meanings
Face another person or team in a game or sport and try to win
Why “against”? Two people or teams face each other and try to win.
“We are playing against the league leaders tonight.”
“She played against her old tennis coach.”
Test yourself
“We are playing against the league leaders tonight.” What does it mean?
Nearby in the meaning map
Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.
run against
Same against pattern: competition
Be a candidate in the same election as another person
play along
Same base verb: play
Pretend to agree to deceive or appease someone
play around
Same base verb: play
Experiment in a casual way; Have casual romantic or sexual affairs
play back
Same base verb: play
Replay a recording
play down
Same base verb: play
Make something seem less important than it is
play on
Same base verb: play
Take advantage of someone's weakness or fear
play out
Same base verb: play
Develop or unfold over time
play up
Same base verb: play
Cause problems by misbehaving or malfunctioning; Act in a way that pleases someone or a group
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