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play for

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play for something

 

1. to gamble for something; to use something as the medium of exchange for gaming or gambling. Let's just play for nickels, okay? We will play for dollar bills.

2. to play for a particular reason, other than winning. We are just playing for fun. They are not competing. They are playing for practice.

See also: play

play for

1. Take part for a particular reason, as in We're not playing for money, just for fun. A special usage of this idiom is play for laughs, that is, with the aim of arousing laughter.

2. play someone for. Manage someone for one's own ends, make a fool of, dupe or cheat. For example, I resent your playing me for a fool, or He suddenly found out she'd been playing him for a sucker. This usage employs play in the sense of "exhaust a hooked fish," that is, manage it on the line so that it exhausts itself. [Mid-1600s]

See also: play