English
game
Pronunciation Noun

game

  1. A playful or competitive activity.
    1. A playful activity that may be unstructured; an amusement or pastime.
      Being a child is all fun and games.
    2. (countable) An activity described by a set of rules, especially for the purpose of entertainment, often competitive or having an explicit goal.
      • 1983, Lawrence Lasker & al., WarGames:
        Joshua: Shall we play a game?
        David: ... Love to. How about Global Thermonuclear War?
        Joshua: Wouldn't you prefer a good game of chess?
        David: Later. Let's play Global Thermonuclear War.
        Joshua: Fine.
      • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 37:
        From time to time, track-suited boys ran past them, with all the deadly purpose and humourless concentration of those who enjoyed Games.
      Games in the classroom can make learning fun.
    3. (countable) A particular instance of playing a game; match.
      Sally won the game.
      They can turn the game around in the second half.
      • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 731476803 ↗:
        “I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.
    4. That which is gained, such as the stake in a game.
    5. The number of points necessary to win a game.
      In short whist, five points are game.
    6. (card games) In some games, a point awarded to the player whose cards add up to the largest sum.
    7. (countable) The equipment that enables such activity, particularly as packaged under a title.
      Some of the games in the closet we have on the computer as well.
    8. One's manner, style, or performance in playing a game.
      Study can help your game of chess.
      Hit the gym if you want to toughen up your game.
      • 1951, J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, chapter 11:
        I played golf with her that same afternoon. She lost eight balls, I remember. Eight. I had a terrible time getting her to at least open her eyes when she took a swing at the ball. I improved her game immensely, though.
    9. (obsolete, uncountable) An amorous dalliance.
  2. (countable) A video game.
  3. (countable, informal, nearly always singular) A field of gainful activity, as an industry or profession.
    When it comes to making sales, John is the best in the game.
    He's in the securities game somehow.
  4. (countable, figuratively) Something that resembles a game with rules, despite not being designed.
    In the game of life, you may find yourself playing the waiting game far too often.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act THIRD, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:
      I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game’s afoot!
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 731476803 ↗:
      “I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.
  5. (countable, military) An exercise simulating warfare, whether computerized or involving human participants.
  6. (uncountable) Wild animals hunted for food.
    The forest has plenty of game.
  7. (uncountable, informal, used mostly of males) The ability to seduce someone, usually by strategy.
    He didn't get anywhere with her because he had no game.
    • 1998, Nate Dogg, She's Strange (song)
      She's strange, so strange, but I didn't complain. She said yes to me when I ran my game.
  8. (uncountable, slang) Mastery; the ability to excel at something.
  9. (countable) A questionable or unethical practice in pursuit of a goal; a scheme.
    You want to borrow my credit card for a week? What's your game?
    • Your murderous game is nearly up.
    It was obviously Lord Macaulay's game to blacken the greatest literary champion of the cause he had set himself to attack.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Adjective

game (comparative gamer, superlative gamest)

  1. (colloquial) Willing to participate.
  2. (of an animal) That shows a tendency to continue to fight against another animal, despite being wounded, often severely.
  3. Persistent, especially in senses similar to the above.
  4. Injured, lame (of a limb).
    • around 1900, O. Henry, Lost on Dress Parade
      You come with me and we'll have a cozy dinner and a pleasant talk together, and by that time your game ankle will carry you home very nicely, I am sure."
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Verb

game (games, present participle gaming; past and past participle gamed)

  1. (intransitive) To gamble.
    • 1883, Fielde, Adele Marion, “{l”, in A Pronouncing and Defining Dictionary of the Swatow Dialect, Arranged According to Syllables and Tones, Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press, [//archive.org/stream/pronouncingdefin00fielrich/pronouncingdefin00fielrich#page//mode/1up page zh]:
      quote en
  2. (intransitive) To play video games.
  3. (transitive) To exploit loopholes in a system or bureaucracy in a way which defeats or nullifies the spirit of the rules in effect, usually to obtain a result which otherwise would be unobtainable.
    We'll bury them in paperwork, and game the system.
  4. (transitive, slang, of males) To perform premeditated seduction strategy.
    • 2005, "Picking up the pieces ↗", The Economist, 6 October 2005:
      Returning briefly to his journalistic persona to interview Britney Spears, he finds himself gaming her, and she gives him her phone number.
    • 2010, Mystery, The Pickup Artist: The New and Improved Art of Seduction, Villard Books (2010), ISBN 9780345518217, page 100 ↗:
      A business associate of mine at the time, George Wu, sat across the way, gaming a stripper the way I taught him.
    • 2010, Sheila McClear, "Would you date a pickup artist? ↗", New York Post, 9 July 2010:
      How did Amanda know she wasn’t getting gamed? Well, she didn’t. “I would wonder, ‘Is he saying stuff to other girls that he says to me?’ We did everything we could to cut it off . . . yet we somehow couldn’t.”
Translations

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