Word.ws English Dictionary

playing the game

playing the game is the present participle and gerund of play the game.

Meaning of play the game

Verb

play the game (third-person singular simple present plays the game, present participle playing the game, simple past and past participle played the game)

  1. To behave fairly; to abide by the rules.
    • And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat, / Or the selfish hope of a season's fame, / But his captain's hand on his shoulder smote / "Play up! play up! and play the game!"1892, Henry Newbolt, Vitaï Lampada

Questions about playing the game

What is playing the game the present participle and gerund of?
Playing the game is the present participle and gerund of play the game.

Words near playing the game in the dictionary

  1. playing the deuce with
  2. playing the devil with
  3. playing the dickens with
  4. playing the field
  5. playing the fool
  6. playing the game
  7. playing the giddy goat
  8. playing the giddy ox
  9. playing the hand one is dealt
  10. playing the man
  11. playing the man and not the ball

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: playing the game (page history and authors); play the game (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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