Play vs Hold - What's the difference?

As a verb play

is (lb) to act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.

As a noun play

is activity for amusement only, especially among the young.

As a proper noun hold is

moon.

play

English

Verb

(en verb)

(lb) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.

*2001 , Annabelle Sabloff, Reordering the Natural World , Univ. of Toronto Press, p.83:

*:A youngstergo on vacation, play in the same way that he did with his friends, and so on.

*2003 , Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont et al. (eds.), Joining Society: Social Interaction and Learning in Adolescence and Youth , Cambridge Univ. Press, p.52:

*:We had to play for an hour, so that meant that we didn't have time to play and joke around.

(lb) To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).

#(lb) To compete against, in a game.

#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 12, work=BBC Sport

, title= International friendly: England 1-0 Spain , passage=England will not be catapulted among the favourites for Euro 2012 as a result of this win, but no victory against Spain is earned easily and it is right they take great heart from their efforts as they now prepare to play Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday.}}

(label) To take part in amorous activity; to make love, fornicate; to have sex.

*1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , II.iv:

*:Her proper face / I not descerned in that darkesome shade, / But weend it was my loue, with whom he playd .

(lb) To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance.

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katrina G. Claw

, title= Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.}}

To produce music or theatre.

# To produce music.

#*2007 , Dan Erlewine, Guitar Player Repair Guide (ISBN 0879309210), page 220:

#*:If your guitar plays well on fretted strings but annoys you on the open ones, the nut's probably worn out.

# To produce music using a musical instrument.

# To produce music (or a specified song or musical style) using (a specified musical instrument).

# To use a device to watch or listen to the indicated recording.

# to be shown.

# To perform in or at; to give performances in or at.

#*2008 , My Life: From Normandy to Hockeytown (ISBN 0966412087), p.30:

#*:I got a hold of Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong's agent and I explained to him on the phone that, "I know you're playing' London on Wednesday night. Why don't you come and ' play the Arena in Windsor on Saturday night?"

#(lb) To act or perform (a play).

(lb) To behave in a particular way.

#(lb) Contrary to fact, to give an appearance of being.

#*(rfdate) Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)

#*:Thou canst play the rational if thou wilt.

#*1985 , Sharon S. Brehm, Intimate Relationships :

#*:Playing hard to get is not the same as slamming the door in someone's face.

#*1996 , Michael P. Malone, James J Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest :

#*:Now, surveying his final link, he had the nice advantage of being able to play coy with established port cities that desperately wanted his proven railroad.

#*2003 , John U. Ogbu, Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement , p.194:

#*:Instead, they played dumb, remained silent, and did their classwork.

#(lb) To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless.

#*(rfdate) Sir (1628–1699):

#*:Men are apt to play with their healths.

#(lb) To act; to behave; to practice deception.

#*(rfdate) (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616):

#*:His mother played false with a smith.

#(lb) To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute.

#*(rfdate) (John Milton) (1608-1674):

#*:Nature here / Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will / Her virgin fancies.

#*:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.

(lb) To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate.

*(rfdate) (1671-1743):

*:The heart beats, the blood circulates, the lungs play .

*:The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it.

(lb) To move gaily; to disport.

*(rfdate) (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616):

*:even as the waving sedges play with wind

*(rfdate) (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719):

*:The setting sun / Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.

*(rfdate) (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744):

*:All fame is foreign but of true desert, / Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.

(lb) To put in action or motion.

(lb) To keep in play, as a hooked fish, in order to land it.

Noun

Activity for amusement only, especially among the young.

* Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

She was fond of all boys' plays , and greatly preferred cricket

(uncountable) Similar activity, in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.

(uncountable, ethology) "Repeated, incompletely functional behavior differing from more serious versions ..., and initiated voluntarily when ... in a low-stress setting."

The conduct, or course of a game.

(countable) An individual's performance in a sport or game.

(countable) (turn-based games ) An action carried out when it is one's turn to play.

(countable) A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.

(countable) A theatrical performance featuring actors.

We saw a two-act play in the theatre.

(countable) A major move by a business.

(countable) A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.

(uncountable) The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely.

No wonder the fanbelt is slipping: there’s too much play in it.

Too much play in a steering wheel may be dangerous.

(uncountable, informal) Sexual role-playing.

* 1996 , Sabrina P Ramet, Gender reversals and gender cultures

The rarity of male domination in fantasy play is readily explained.

* 1996 , "toptigger", (on Internet newsgroup alt.personals.spanking.punishment )

Palm Springs M seeks sane F 4 safe bdsm play

* 2013 , Rachel Kramer Bussel, Best Bondage Erotica 2014

There were none of the usual restrictions on public nudity or sexual interaction in the club environment. Still, the night was young, and as he'd made his way to the bar to order Mistress Ramona a gin and tonic, he'd seen little in the way of play .

* 2014 , Jiri T. Servant, Facts About Bondage - Bondage Guide For Beginners

This type of play allows some people to relax and enjoy being given pleasure without having to think about giving pleasure back at the same time.

(countable) A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.

Synonyms

* (literary composition) drama * See also

Derived terms

* airplay * all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy * at play * bloodplay * child's play * close of play * double play * downplay * fair play * fireplay * force play * foreplay * foul play * grandstand play * learn to play * long play * nativity play * mystery play * outdoor play * passion play * pissplay * playact/play-act * play about * play along * play around * play back * play ball * playbill * playboy * play by ear * play by play, play-by-play * play date, playdate * play dead * play doctor * playdough * play down * play dumb * player * play fair * play fast and loose * play fight/play-fight/playfight * play for love * playful * play games * playground * play hardball * play hard to get * play hob with * play hooky * play house * playhouse * play in * play it by ear * play it safe * play lunch * playmate * play money * playoff/play-off/play off * play Old Harry * play on * play one against another * play one's cards right * play on words * playout/play out * playpen * play possum * playroom * playschool * play second fiddle * play silly buggers * play someone like a fiddle * playsuit * play the angles * play the devil * play the field * play the fool * play the hand one is dealt * play the ponies * play the race card * play the same tape * play the white man * plaything * playtime * play to the gallery * play to win * play truant * play up * play upon * playwear * play with * play with fire * play with oneself * playwright * plug-and-play * power play * quad play * radio play * rain stopped play * roleplay/role play/role-play * screen play/screenplay * shadow play * squeeze play * triple play * turnabout is fair play * two can play that game * war play * when the cat's away the mice will play * word play/wordplay

Statistics

* 1000 English basic words ----

hold

English

(wikipedia hold)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .

Adjective

(en adjective)

(obsolete) Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.

Etymology 2

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) , (etyl) (m), (m), (etyl) (m), (etyl) (m), (etyl) (m).

Verb

(lb) To grasp or grip.

*:But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window.

*, chapter=23

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.}}

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author=(Henry Petroski)

, magazine=(American Scientist), title= The Evolution of Eyeglasses , passage=The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone,

(lb) To contain or store.

(lb) To maintain or keep to a position or state.

#(lb) To have and keep possession of something.

#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Angelique Chrisafis

, title=Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism, work=Guardian citation , passage=She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.}}

#(lb) To reserve.

#(lb) To cause to wait or delay.

#(lb) To detain.

#(lb) To be or remain valid; to apply.

#*(John Locke) (1632-1705)

#*:The rule holds in land as all other commodities.

#To keep oneself in a particular state.

#*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)

, chapter=2 citation , passage=Mother

#(lb) To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:We cannot hold mortality's strong hand.

#*(Richard Crashaw) (1613-1649)

#*:Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow.

#* (1800-1859)

#*:He hath not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue.

#(lb) To bear, carry, or manage.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:Let him hold his fingers thus.

# Not to move; to halt; to stop.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:And damned be him that first cries, "Hold , enough!"

#(lb) Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.

#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#*:Our force by land hath nobly held .

# To remain ; to control an excretory bodily function.

(lb) To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.

#(lb) To maintain, to consider, to opine.

#*1776 , (Thomas Jefferson) et al.'', ''(United States Declaration of Independence) :

#*:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.}}

#(lb) To bind (someone) to a consequence of his or her actions.

#To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.

#*Bible, (Psalms) lxxxiii.1:

#*:Hold not thy peace, and be not still.

#*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

#*:Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, / Shall hold their course.

#To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.

#*Bible, ii.15:

#*:Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.

#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

#*:But still he held his purpose to depart.

#(lb) To restrain oneself; to refrain; to hold back.

#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

#*:His dauntless heart would fain have held / From weeping, but his eyes rebelled.

To win one's own service game.

To organise an event or meeting (usually in passive voice).

*, chapter=5

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held , one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.}}

(lb) To derive right or title.

*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

*:My crown is absolute, and holds of none.

*1817 , (William Hazlitt), ''

*:His imagination holds immediately from nature.

Antonyms

* release

Derived terms

* be left holding the baby * holdall * hold a candle * hold a grudge * hold accountable * hold back * hold court * hold down * holder * holdfast * hold forth * holding * hold it * hold off * hold on * hold on to * hold one's breath * hold one's fire * hold one's horses * hold one's liquor * hold one's own * hold one's peace * hold out * hold over * hold responsible * hold someone's feet to the fire * hold the cards * hold the fort * hold the line * hold to account * hold up * hold-ups * hold water * hold with the hare and run with the hounds * uphold * withhold * See also'' held''' ''and'' ' holding

Noun

(en noun)

A grasp or grip.

* , chapter=7

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.}}

Keep a firm hold on the handlebars.

Something reserved or kept.

We have a hold here for you.

The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.

* 2004 , Zoe Diana Draelos, Hair Care: An Illustrated Dermatologic Handbook (page 221)

Sculpturing gels provide stiffer hold than styling gels, which provide better hold than mousses.

(wrestling) A position or grip used to control the opponent.

He got him in a tight hold and pinned him to the mat.

(gambling) The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold.

The House Hold on the game is 10,000, this is the amount of decision or risk the house wishes to assume.

(gambling) The wager amount, the total hold .

As of Monday night the total Melbourne Cup hold was $848,015

(tennis) An instance of .

* 1898 , , Chapter 4

So I felt my way down the passage back to the vault, and recked not of the darkness, nor of Blackbeard and his crew, if only I could lay my lips to liquor. Thus I groped about the barrels till near the top of the stack my hand struck on the spile of a keg, and drawing it, I got my mouth to the hold .

A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the others spin.

(video games, dated) A pause facility.

* 1983 , New Generation Software, Knot in 3D (video game instruction leaflet)

A hold facility is available; H holds, and S restarts.

* 1987 ?, Imagine Software, Legend of Kage (video game instruction leaflet)

SCREEN 5 — Perhaps the toughest — going like the clappers sometimes works but generally you'll have to be smarter than that. If things get a little too hectic and you don't even have time to reach the HOLD key, try taking a short rest below the top of the stairs.

Derived terms

* foothold * handhold * household * no holds barred * on hold * stronghold * threshhold * military hold * personal hold

References

Etymology 3

Alteration (due to (m)) of (m). Cognate with (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)

(nautical, aviation) The cargo area of a ship or aircraft, (often cargo hold ).

Put that in the hold .

Statistics

Anagrams

* (l) English irregular verbs 1000 English basic words ----