# game

Pronunciation: say "GAYM" /ɡeɪm/

## Noun

1. An activity governed by a set of rules, usually meant for entertainment and often competitive or aimed at a clear goal.
   - Simple: An activity with rules that people play for fun, often against each other to win.
   - _Each game on the festival schedule had its own rules and prizes._
   - _Soccer is a game enjoyed by millions of people around the world._
2. A single occasion of playing, counted from beginning to end.
   - Simple: One whole time of playing, from the start until someone wins or it ends.
   - _She watched every game her son played that season._
   - _Rain forced the umpires to call the game in the fifth inning._
3. Short for video game: a game played on a screen using a console, computer or phone. — Ellipsis of video game.
   - Simple: Short for video game, a game you play on a screen.
   - _He preordered the game months before its release date._
   - _The studio patched the game to fix several bugs after launch._
4. Playful activity that need not follow fixed rules; an amusement or pastime.
   - Simple: Free, fun play that does not need fixed rules, done just to enjoy yourself.
   - _She made a game of chasing him around the kitchen._
   - _What started as a harmless game of splashing each other soon turned into a real quarrel between the brothers._
5. The way someone plays or performs, in a sport or any activity, and the level of skill they show.
   - Simple: How well someone plays a sport or does an activity, and how much skill they show.
   - _The coach told her to work on the weaker parts of her game._
   - _Under pressure, his game fell apart in the closing minutes._
6. Wild animals, birds or fish hunted for sport or for food; also, the meat of such animals eaten as food.
   - Simple: Wild animals and birds that people hunt for sport or food, or the meat from them.
   - _The estate was stocked with game for the autumn hunting season._
   - _Local cooks prize game for its strong, distinctive flavor._
8. A situation or pattern that works like a game with rules, despite not being deliberately designed.
   - Simple: A situation that has rules like a game, even though no one planned it that way.
   - _Office politics is a game whose rules everyone obeys but no one admits to._
   - _Courtship, he decided, was a game neither player would confess to playing._
9. A line of work, whether an industry or a profession, in which people earn a living. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A type of business or line of work.
   - _Veterans of the advertising game know how fast client loyalty can shift._
   - _She walked away from the corporate game to start a small nonprofit._
10. A dubious or unethical tactic used to achieve some goal.
   - Simple: A dishonest trick someone uses to get what they want.
   - _Inflating expenses before an audit is a risky game that often backfires._
   - _She refused to take part in the backroom game her colleagues were playing._
11. A major sports competition that brings many contests together, often across several sports, and recurs on a regular schedule.
   - Simple: A very big sports event with many contests, often in different sports, that is held regularly.
   - _The Olympic flame was lit inside the stadium, and the Games were officially open._
   - _Hosting the Games left the city with a new stadium and a large public debt._
13. The physical equipment that lets you play, especially as sold together under a single title.
   - Simple: The boxed set of pieces, board, or cards you need to play something.
   - _He unwrapped the game and found the dice missing from the box._
   - _Several games on the top shelf still had their plastic wrapping._
15. In tennis and some similar sports, a single scoring unit, several of which make up a set.
   - Simple: In tennis and some sports like it, one of the parts that add up to make a set.
   - _She broke serve in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead._
   - _The champion dropped only two games in the whole match._
17. Skill at attracting or wooing a romantic interest, usually through a deliberate approach. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Skill at attracting someone you are interested in romantically.
   - _His friends teased him about losing his game after the breakup._
   - _She had enough game to get his number before the party was over._
18. An exercise that simulates warfare, whether run on computers or carried out by human participants.
   - Simple: A practice exercise that copies a real war so people can plan and learn.
   - _The generals staged a war game to rehearse their response to an invasion._
   - _Analysts designed a game to model how the conflict might unfold._
19. Usually games: sport and physical exercise taught as a school subject. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A school lesson where students play sports and do exercise.
   - _Games was canceled because the pitch was waterlogged after the storm._
   - _During games, the older pupils were taught rugby while the younger ones did athletics._
22. Prostitution, now chiefly in the expression 'on the game'. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Work as a prostitute, often said as 'on the game'.
   - _Court records from the period list several local women as being on the game._
   - _He admitted his sister had gone on the game to pay the rent._

## Verb

7. To play card, board, or video games, typically for entertainment.
   - Simple: To spend time playing cards, board games, or video games.
   - _They game online with friends scattered across the country._
   - _He likes to game until well past midnight on weekends._
14. To exploit loopholes in a system or set of rules so as to obtain a result the rules were meant to prevent.
   - Simple: To use the weak spots in a set of rules to get something you should not get.
   - _Speculators game the auction process to corner scarce supplies._
   - _Critics argue that the policy lets wealthy applicants game the admissions criteria._
16. To gamble, especially by playing games of chance for money.
   - Simple: To bet money on games of chance.
   - _The men gamed by candlelight until dawn, and by morning the young lord had lost his horse._
   - _They gathered each Friday to game for small stakes._
23. To use a premeditated strategy in order to seduce someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To use planned tricks to try to win someone over romantically.
   - _Members of the seduction community teach men to game women with scripted openers._
   - _He bragged about gaming three different women in one weekend._

## Adjective

12. Willing and ready to do something new, hard, or risky, and determined to keep going. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Happy and ready to try something, even when it is hard, and not giving up.
   - _The whole team was game to try the new training routine._
   - _Ask him to help move the piano; he's usually game._
20. Showing a tendency to keep fighting another animal despite being wounded, often severely.
   - Simple: Ready to keep fighting another animal even when badly hurt.
   - _A game fighting cock will press its attack despite deep wounds._
   - _Breeders prized the bull for being so game in the ring._
21. Injured or lame, typically said of a limb.
   - Simple: Hurt or lame, said about an arm or leg.
   - _The old dog favored its game hind leg on the stairs._
   - _A game shoulder forced the pitcher to retire early._

## Noun

24. Amorous play; flirtation or lovemaking. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Flirting, or playful lovemaking between people.

## Other meanings

- (noun) What is gained in a contest, such as the stake or pot.
- (noun) The number of points required to win a game.
- (noun) In card games such as all fours, a point awarded to the player or side whose cards won in tricks have the highest total scoring value.

## Origin

From Middle English game, from Old English gamen ("sport, joy, pastime, amusement"), from Proto-Germanic *gamaną ("amusement, pleasure"), literally something like "participation" or "people together," perhaps built from a collective prefix *ga- plus *mann- ("man"); alternatively the second part may come from a Proto-Indo-European root *men- ("to think"). It is related to gammon and gamble.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/game (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).