plays
verb · noun
Form of play , third-person singular of play.
Simple meaning
To perform in.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
playzIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpleɪz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
third-person singular of play
To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
third-person singular of play
To act or perform (a play).
third-person singular of play
To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
third-person singular of play
To act as (the indicated role).
noun
plural of play
Similar activity in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.
plural of play
(uncountable, sports, with certain prepositions, also figurative) The sphere or circumstance in which a playing implement, such as a ball, is available to be played.
plural of play
The conduct, or course, of a game.
plural of play
An individual's performance in a sport or game.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
Used this way, plays is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a sporting use: familiar to anyone who follows the game, and puzzling to anyone who does not.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Sports
- News/reporting
- Everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.