Word.ws English Dictionary

in play

in play prepositional phrase: as a joke.

Prepositional phrase

  1. As a joke.
    • You mustn't take what I said so seriously, it was only said in play.
  2. In operation, active, currently valid, at play, at work.
    • It's hard to tell which physical forces are in play at this altitude.
    • This deadly scenario with this hurricane is still in play, so please take precaution.
  3. (also, figuratively) Available to be played according to the rules of the game in question; within the boundaries of the pitch, within the realm of the possible, etc.
    • now everything is in play
    • The ball is in play for an average of just seven minutes out of a sixty-minute game.
  4. Capable of being won by more than one party or candidate.
    • Though the state has not changed hands in 20 years, the latest polls suggest it may now be in play.
  5. Open to a takeover bid.
    • Despite the best efforts of the executive committee, it seems the company is now in play.

Questions about in play

What does in play mean?
In play means as a joke.
What part of speech is in play?
In play is a prepositional phrase.

Words near in play in the dictionary

  1. in place
  2. in place of
  3. in places
  4. in plain sight
  5. in plain view
  6. in play
  7. in plenty
  8. in pocket
  9. in point
  10. in point of
  11. in point of fact

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in play (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “in play.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_play. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.