"play along" meaning in English

See play along in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-play along.ogg Forms: plays along [present, singular, third-person], playing along [participle, present], played along [participle, past], played along [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} play along (third-person singular simple present plays along, present participle playing along, simple past and past participle played along)
  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see play, along.
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-CI~27twE
  2. (idiomatic) To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-cuk1s1mg
  3. (idiomatic) To participate in a joke or trick while hiding one's knowledge of its true nature. Tags: idiomatic Translations (hide one's knowledge of a joke): mitspielen (German), stare al gioco (Italian), подыгрывать (podygryvatʹ) (Russian), seguir la corriente (Spanish), spela med (Swedish), spela spelet (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-kZLWt00A Disambiguation of "hide one's knowledge of a joke": 0 12 88 0 0 0 0
  4. (idiomatic) To play a musical instrument in synchrony with a playback of a recording. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-MdzMsbBt Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "along", Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 2 3 3 15 37 32 9 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "along": 9 5 4 13 33 30 7 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 3 5 4 10 39 35 4 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 2 4 3 18 36 32 5 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 3 3 17 37 33 4 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 4 6 5 18 31 28 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 3 5 4 16 35 32 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 4 6 4 18 33 29 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 4 6 4 18 33 30 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 3 6 4 14 31 29 13
  5. (idiomatic, US) To cooperate or go along with a plan. Tags: US, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-0Dh7By6s Categories (other): American English, English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "along", Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 2 3 3 15 37 32 9 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "along": 9 5 4 13 33 30 7 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 3 5 4 10 39 35 4 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 2 4 3 18 36 32 5 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 3 3 17 37 33 4 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 4 6 5 18 31 28 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 3 5 4 16 35 32 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 4 6 4 18 33 29 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 4 6 4 18 33 30 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 3 6 4 14 31 29 13
  6. (idiomatic, US) To pretend to cooperate or go along with a plan. Tags: US, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-s-gTNYJ1 Categories (other): American English, English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "along", Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 2 3 3 15 37 32 9 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "along": 9 5 4 13 33 30 7 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 3 5 4 10 39 35 4 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 2 4 3 18 36 32 5 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 2 3 3 17 37 33 4 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 4 6 5 18 31 28 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 3 5 4 16 35 32 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 4 6 4 18 33 29 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 4 6 4 18 33 30 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 3 6 4 14 31 29 13
  7. (idiomatic, UK) To manipulate (someone). Tags: UK, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-play_along-en-verb-t--IadiT Categories (other): British English, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 3 6 4 14 31 29 13
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: play dumb

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "plays along",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "playing along",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played along",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played along",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "play along (third-person singular simple present plays along, present participle playing along, simple past and past participle played along)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "33 0 1 5 32 28 1",
      "word": "play dumb"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The children spent the day playing along the river.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see play, along."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-CI~27twE",
      "links": [
        [
          "play",
          "play#English"
        ],
        [
          "along",
          "along#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "James thought it was cruel for the fraternity members to make the pledge think his father had died suddenly and refused to play along.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "James played along with their cruel trick.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "29 February 2012, Aidan Foster-Carter, BBC News North Korea: The denuclearisation dance resumeshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17213948",
          "text": "North Korea loves to spring surprises. More unusual is for its US foe to play along."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-cuk1s1mg",
      "links": [
        [
          "charade",
          "charade"
        ],
        [
          "deception",
          "deception"
        ],
        [
          "practical joke",
          "practical joke"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I knew that my blind date was an April Fools trick, but I played along anyway.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To participate in a joke or trick while hiding one's knowledge of its true nature."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-kZLWt00A",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To participate in a joke or trick while hiding one's knowledge of its true nature."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 12 88 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
          "word": "mitspielen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 12 88 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
          "word": "stare al gioco"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 12 88 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "podygryvatʹ",
          "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
          "word": "подыгрывать"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 12 88 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
          "word": "seguir la corriente"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 12 88 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
          "word": "spela med"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 12 88 0 0 0 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
          "word": "spela spelet"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 3 15 37 32 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "9 5 4 13 33 30 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"along\"",
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          "_dis": "3 5 4 10 39 35 4",
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          "_dis": "4 6 5 18 31 28 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 5 4 16 35 32 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 6 4 18 33 29 6",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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        {
          "_dis": "4 6 4 18 33 30 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
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        {
          "_dis": "3 6 4 14 31 29 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I like to practise guitar by playing along with records.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To play a musical instrument in synchrony with a playback of a recording."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-MdzMsbBt",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To play a musical instrument in synchrony with a playback of a recording."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 3 15 37 32 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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        {
          "_dis": "9 5 4 13 33 30 7",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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        {
          "_dis": "4 6 5 18 31 28 7",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
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        {
          "_dis": "3 5 4 16 35 32 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 6 4 18 33 29 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 6 4 18 33 30 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 6 4 14 31 29 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I have doubts about your plan, but I'll play along for now.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-0Dh7By6s",
      "links": [
        [
          "go along with",
          "go along with"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, US) To cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 3 3 15 37 32 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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          "_dis": "9 5 4 13 33 30 7",
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        {
          "_dis": "4 6 5 18 31 28 7",
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        {
          "_dis": "3 5 4 16 35 32 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
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          "_dis": "4 6 4 18 33 29 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
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        {
          "_dis": "4 6 4 18 33 30 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 6 4 14 31 29 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I haven't told him yet, I'm still playing along with his scheme.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pretend to cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-s-gTNYJ1",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, US) To pretend to cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 6 4 14 31 29 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The con man plays his victims along until he senses the moment to ask for money.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To manipulate (someone)."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_along-en-verb-t--IadiT",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, UK) To manipulate (someone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-play along.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e4/En-au-play_along.ogg/En-au-play_along.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/En-au-play_along.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "play along"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"along\"",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "plays along",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "playing along",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played along",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played along",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "play along (third-person singular simple present plays along, present participle playing along, simple past and past participle played along)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "play dumb"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The children spent the day playing along the river.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see play, along."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "play",
          "play#English"
        ],
        [
          "along",
          "along#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "James thought it was cruel for the fraternity members to make the pledge think his father had died suddenly and refused to play along.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "James played along with their cruel trick.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "29 February 2012, Aidan Foster-Carter, BBC News North Korea: The denuclearisation dance resumeshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17213948",
          "text": "North Korea loves to spring surprises. More unusual is for its US foe to play along."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "charade",
          "charade"
        ],
        [
          "deception",
          "deception"
        ],
        [
          "practical joke",
          "practical joke"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I knew that my blind date was an April Fools trick, but I played along anyway.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To participate in a joke or trick while hiding one's knowledge of its true nature."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To participate in a joke or trick while hiding one's knowledge of its true nature."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I like to practise guitar by playing along with records.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To play a musical instrument in synchrony with a playback of a recording."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To play a musical instrument in synchrony with a playback of a recording."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I have doubts about your plan, but I'll play along for now.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "go along with",
          "go along with"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, US) To cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I haven't told him yet, I'm still playing along with his scheme.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pretend to cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, US) To pretend to cooperate or go along with a plan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The con man plays his victims along until he senses the moment to ask for money.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To manipulate (someone)."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, UK) To manipulate (someone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-play along.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e4/En-au-play_along.ogg/En-au-play_along.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/En-au-play_along.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
      "word": "mitspielen"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
      "word": "stare al gioco"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "podygryvatʹ",
      "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
      "word": "подыгрывать"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
      "word": "seguir la corriente"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
      "word": "spela med"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "hide one's knowledge of a joke",
      "word": "spela spelet"
    }
  ],
  "word": "play along"
}

Download raw JSONL data for play along meaning in English (5.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (9a96ef4 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.