Pla ton ism /'pleitamzam/ noun [u] (philosophy 15) the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato and those who followed him #3 fti M ±X; ► Pla-

ton-ist/'pleitamst/ adj., noun

pla toon /pla'tuin/ noun a small group of soldiers that is part of a company and commanded by a lieutenant

() W

plat ter /'plaeta(r)/ noun a large plate that is used for serving food A/X&: a. silver platter 0 I'll have

the fish platter (= several types of fish and other food served on a large plate). #fef5li^BE₀ IHTOlsee

silver n.

platy-pus/'plaetipas/ (also .duck-billed platypus) noun an Australian animal that is covered in fur and has a beak like a duck, webbed feet (= with skin between the toes) and a flat tail. Platypuses lay eggs but give milk to their young, )

plaudits /’ploidits/ noun [pi.] (formal) praise and approval His work won him plau

dits from the critics.

plaus-ible/'phizabl/ adj. 1 (of an excuse or explanation fin^cl?#) reasonable and likely to be true f iiJifKj; pj fa (ft : Her story sounded perfectly plausible. M (Hi SI ^B/r W £ ^ 3 o o The only plausible explanation is

that he forgot. Pf H22

implausible 2 (disapproving) (of a person A) good at sounding honest and sincere, especially when trying to trick people *5 gf 4“ felftJ; ISWQinW: She was a plausible liar. ifeJi:^yh^:i;5W4'feWi^iti®?-o ► plausibility /.ploiza'bilati/ noun [U] plausibly/abli/ adv.: He argued very plausibly that the claims were true. ftfeXWPjipltfe^

play OTt/plei/ verb, noun

mverb

► OF CHILDREN JLS 1 ~ (with sb/sth) to do things for

pleasure, as children do; to enjoy yourself, rather than work 5t 51; Wf ftc ; 5t X : [V] A group of kids were

playing with a ball in the street. — o

You'll have to play inside today.

o I haven’t got anybody to play with! A£Hftc5UL!

0 There’s a time to work and a time to play. X#, 5c 3& W W H o O [VN] Let’s play a different game, og ffj 5c,& MW M^BEo 2 [no passive] ~ (at doing) sth to pretend to be or do sth for fun ( A St® ) flx5^, fix ft?: [VN] Let’s play pirates. Pgfnfg#j'/^&5nⁿE! o [V] They were playing at being cowboys. ftfejilsgftf^Tff Sl₀

► TRICK ft] ftc 3 [VN] ~ a trick/tricks (on sb) to trick sb for fun ft}#; $,#

► SPORTS/GAMES ; fct# 4 ~ (sth) (with/against sb) | ~ sb (at sth) to be involved in a game; to compete against sb in a game #jjP tfc#; ( ® ®A ) fcb#: [VN] to play footba.il/chess/cards, etc. D X3. T , 5c £IS

0 Have you played her at squash yet? fftffllMlftriiit 0 France are playing Wales tomorrow. Afe SPAfnjS£^±PAtfc#o O [V] He plays for Cleveland, ftfeftp A^fiJAA[A#^o 0 France are playing against Wales on Saturday. 0 Evans

played very well. J5ftjt|j5t£#ftift}fe₀ 5 to take a particular position in a sports team ( ^ES^jPAX ) ft! ^: [V] Who's playing on the wing? itfiff i£#?

0 [V-N] I've never played right back before. ftcMA/AA A 6 [VN] to include sb in a sports team M- - ft} Jg); it • • • ftp A iistj PA: 1 think we should play Matt on the wing. ftciAAftcflMi£it^#ftrj£#o 7 [VN] to make contact with the ball and hit or kick it in the way mentioned M, ft?, Wh, fft ( ) _: She played the ball

and ran forward, (ttfe ft? 3 ® PU /ft o 0 He played a backhand volley. 8 [VN] (in chess m^m)

to move a piece in chess, etc. ( X ) ; ftr ( ^ ) : She played her bishop. ifcMMto 9 (in card games V&M to put a card face upwards on the table, showing its value ft} H#: [VN] to play your ace/a trump ft} A / X 0 [V] He played out of turn! fife ft ft} 1$!

► MUSIC fA10 ~ (sth) (on sth) | ~ sth (to sb) | ~ sb sth

to perform on a musical instrument; to perform music #$, oft# ( Xfl ) ; in#: [VN] to play the piano/ violin/flute, etc. oft A W ^ 0 He

played a tune on his harmonica. ftfefljq^oftHT —

f ₀ o [VN, VNN] Play that new piece to us.

Afrffi X^BE„ o Play us that new piece. fr ® X ^BG c oM In the distance a band was playing, m 11 ~ sth (for sb) | ~ sb sth to make a tape, CD, etc. produce sound ft tk : [VN, VNN] Play their new CD for me, please. itfEflfefn Wfr^Bl>T'^C^^nftr —X^BEo 0 Play me their new CD, please. T

fifefn W fr ^BI >t ^BE o O [V] My favourite song was playing on the radio.

► ACT/PERFORM ft? if; iUft} 12 [VN] to act in a play, film/

movie, etc.; to act the role of sb ( iSIPJ 'ft ) ft?

^fe, ft?iH, AfU: The part of Elizabeth was played by Cate Blanchett. fe& ill# * ft!X$#ft?

i₀ o He had always wanted to play Othello, fife —IE id fXJjpf J|^5^₀ 18 to pretend to be sth that you are not #31; fg^: [V-ADJ] I decided it was safer to play dead. ftc im X M ^M £ £ # o o [V-N] She enjoys playing the wronged wife. jM1lTAft?if W#Xo 14 [V]

~ (to sb) to be performed ± ; if ft}: A production of

‘Carmen’ was playing to packed houses, jgijfft « A H ) X iiio

► HAVE EFFECT jgfftft] 15 [VN] - a part/role (In sth) to have

an effect on sth jk if ( # ) : The media played an

important part in the last election. fftl^

► SITUATION M® 18 [VN + adv./prep.] to deal with a situation in the way mentioned fth.

M : He played the situation carefully for maximum advantage. ftfeii'R^ZfftMffilA^fffliAf'J^o

► OF UGHT/A SMILE A; 17 [V +adv./prep.] to move or appear quickly and lightly, often changing direction or shape |X]fff; #5$; ft] At: Sunlight played on the surf ace of the lake.

► OF FOUNTAIN ng H 18 [V] when a fountain plays, it produces a steady stream of water ; ri $ft

rTSTTTl Most idioms containing play are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example play the game is at game. play , fftnJ

ffflpiaythe

game game To. have money, time, etc. to

1 play with (informal) to have plenty of money, time, etc.

for doing sth W jl ^ ^ H |H] ^ ) what is sb 'playing at? used to ask in an angry way about what sb is doing ( ) £A«ftX£'st:? : What

do you think you are playing at? fft \H A # ft f)l ft A ^

play with yourself (informal) to masturbate TS i-J:i;k^Ti play a'bout/a'round (with sb/sth) 1 to behave or treat sth in a careless way 5u#; SL#; #]#: Don’t play around with my tools! ^i] 0| fg # ftc W X ^ !

2 (informal) to have a sexual relationship with sb,

usually with sb who is not your usual partner M

M: Her husband is always playing around. IftfeWtftfi

,play along (with sb/sth) to pretend to agree with sb/sth fit M M Ik: I decided to play along with her idea. 'play at sth/at

doing sth (often disapproving) to do sth without being serious about it or putting much effort into it tfcftrjS] ftt; liAiftK; play a'way (from home) (BrF) 1 (of a sports team f£ W S IA) to play a match at the opponent’s ground or stadium ftE^^ftrtblf2(ofa person who is married or who has a regular sexual partner to have a secret sexual

relationship with sb else .play sth<-

'back (to sb) to play music, film, etc. that has been recorded on a tape, video, etc. ) ■.

Play that last section back to me again. fEfi/A —

ffto — related noun playback play sth-'down to try to make sth seem less important than it is MfS !i£f&; mri downplay rsTja play up

.play A off against B (BrE) (NAmE play A off B) to put two people or groups in competition with each other, especially in order to get an advantage for yourself M f£ |h] ( l!! fife ® f 1 ) : She played her two rivals off against each other and got the job herself.

^SB#giJTftPfi?Xfft₀ —related noun play-off .play on (sport f^) to continue to play; to start playing again 1AIE tt# : The home

team claimed a penalty but the referee told them to play