toying

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle of toy.

   She sat toying with her bracelet, only half listening to the lecture.

   He was toying with the idea of selling the house and moving abroad.

   Note

   The -ing form does double duty. It builds progressives (she was toying with her ring) and works as a gerund (toying with fate is unwise). The verb is intransitive, so it almost always takes with, a phrase that stretches from fidgeting with an object to half-considering an idea. Without with, the transitive use is slang for stimulating someone with a sex toy, so keep the preposition in polite prose.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The act of handling or playing with something idly, or of treating a matter without serious intent.

   His endless toying with their hopes eventually drove the investors away.

   The diplomat's casual toying with the proposal infuriated the delegation.

   Similartrifling, dallying, flirtation

   Note

   Unlike the gerund, this is a true noun that can be counted and made plural: toyings. In the plural it can mean amorous caresses. George William M. Reynolds, in The Mysteries of London (1844–45), describes a lover whose toyings grow bolder. The singular, usually followed by with, suits idle handling or the half-serious treatment of a plan or a person's hopes.

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