game

noun

/ɡeɪm/

Idioms

fun

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[countable] an activity that you do to have fun, often one that has rules and that you can win or lose; the equipment for a game游戏；游戏机；游戏用具

The kids were playing a game with their balloons.孩子们正在用气球玩游戏。
The children invented a new game.孩子们发明了一种新游戏。
a video/computer game电子／电脑游戏
I play online games with my friends.我和朋友玩线上游戏。
a game of chance/skill靠运气决定胜负／凭技巧取胜的游戏
Buy your games and software from us.在我们这里购买游戏和软件。

see also board game, card game, computer game, panel game, parlour game, shell game, video game, war game

Synonyms interestinteresthobby ▪ game ▪ pastimeThese are all words for activities that you do for pleasure in your spare time.interest an activity or a subject that you do or study for pleasure in your spare time:

Her main interests are music and gardening.她的主要爱好是音乐和园艺。

hobby an activity that you do for pleasure in your spare time:

His hobbies include swimming and cooking.他爱好游泳和烹饪。

game a children’s activity when they play with toys, pretend to be somebody else, etc.; an activity that you do to have fun:

a game of cops and robbers警察抓强盗的游戏
He was playing games with the dog.他在逗狗玩。

pastime an activity that people do for pleasure in their spare time:

Eating out is the national pastime in France.在法国，下馆子是全国性的消遣活动。

interest, hobby or pastime?A hobby is often more active than an interest: His main hobby is football (= he plays football). • His main interest is football (= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it). Pastime is used when talking about people in general; when you are talking about yourself or an individual person it is more usual to use interest or hobby: Eating out is the national interest/hobby in France. • Do you have any pastimes? Patterns

a popular interest/hobby/pastime
to have/share interests/hobbies
to take up/pursue a(n) interest/hobby

Culture toys and gamestoys and gamesMost young children are given toys for their birthday or at Christmas. Many regularly spend their pocket money on smaller toys. Popular toys include building bricks such as Lego, plastic farm animals, toy cars, model railways and dressing-up costumes. Many children have dolls, and several sets of clothes to dress them in. Particularly popular are Action Man figures and Barbie dolls. Babies are given rattles (= toys that make a noise when shaken), soft toys and teddy bears. Action figures, small plastic models of characters from television shows or films, are also popular. Some parents do not allow their children to have guns or other toys that represent weapons because they do not want them to think it is fun to injure or kill people.Among traditional games that are still popular are board games such as snakes and ladders and Cluedo, card games such as Happy Families and Snap, and word games such as hangman and Scrabble.Children play outside with skipping ropes, bicycles, skateboards, scooters and Rollerblades™. In playgrounds there are often swings, a slide, a see-saw and a climbing frame (NAmE jungle gym) to climb on. Traditional games played outside include hopscotch, a game in which children hop over squares drawn on the ground to try to pick up a stone, and tag, in which one child runs after the others until they catch one of them and then that child has to chase the rest.Few people give up games completely when they become adults. Many people play card games like bridge and poker, and board games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, backgammon and chess.Games consoles and apps are very popular. Games can be played online, either against a real opponent, who is playing somewhere else on their own device, or against a computer program that can be set to a suitable level of difficulty.

Extra Examples

Children love learning new games.孩子喜欢学着玩新游戏。
Chess is a game of skill.国际象棋是讲究技巧的游戏。
The company is developing games to play on mobile phones.这家公司正在开发可在手机上玩的游戏。
It's hard to find indoor games for children.很难找到适合儿童的室内游戏。
This is a good game for getting people to mix.这是一个不错的让人互相交流的游戏。
children's party games like Musical Chairs抢座位之类的儿童集体游戏
I have been an avid roleplaying game fan for more than 20 years.20 多年来，我一直是一名狂热的角色扮演游戏迷。
competitive games in which there is always a winner and a loser总有输赢的竞争性比赛
Millions of people buy racing games every year.每年有数百万人购买赛车游戏。

Topics Shoppinga1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

ball
board
card
…

verb + game

learn
create
design
…

game + noun

player
designer
developer
…

sport

[countable] a sport with rules in which people or teams compete against each other运动项目

ball games, such as football or tennis诸如足球或网球等球类运动
How I hated team games at school!我上学的时候多么讨厌团队运动！
the game of something the game of golf/cricket/basketball高尔夫/板球/篮球运动
Broadcasters have injected vast amounts of money into the game of football. 广播公司向足球比赛投入了大量资金。

Topics Games and toysa1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

ball
board
card
…

verb + game

learn
create
design
…

game + noun

player
designer
developer
…

[countable] an occasion of playing a game（一项）游戏，运动，比赛

to win/lose a game赢／输一场比赛
They lost their first home game of the season. 他们输掉了本赛季的第一场主场比赛。
a baseball/basketball game棒球／篮球比赛
(especially North American English) a football game美式足球比赛

In British English it is more usual to say a football match, unless you are talking about American football.

(North American English) We're going to the ball game (= baseball game).我们要去看棒球比赛。
Are you coming to watch the game?你来看比赛吗？
a game of something to play a game of chess下国际象棋
Let's have a game of table tennis.咱们来打场乒乓球赛吧。
game against somebody Saturday’s League game against Swansea星期六对斯旺西的联赛比赛
game with somebody today's game with Manchester United今天与曼联的比赛
They're in training for the big game.他们正在为大赛进行训练。

activity/business

[countable] a type of activity or business行当；行业；职业

How long have you been in this game?你干这行当多长时间了？
the game of politics政治活动
I'm new to this game myself.我本人对这个不熟悉。
Getting dirty was all part of the game to the kids.对孩子来说弄脏是很正常的事。

secret plan

[singular] (informal) a secret and clever plan; a trick诡计；策略；花招

So that's his game (= now I know what he has been planning).原来这就是他的鬼把戏。

wild animals/birds

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[uncountable] wild animals or birds that people hunt for sport or food猎物；野禽；野味

Wordfinder

chase
falconry
game
hunt
open season
pack
poach
prey
safari
trail

see also big game, fair gameTopics Animalsc2, Birdsc2

Word OriginOld English gamen ‘amusement, fun’, gamenian ‘play, amuse oneself’, of Germanic origin.

Idioms

ahead of/behind the game

at an advantage/disadvantage because you have done more/less preparation or know more/less than other people, especially those you are competing against 游戏：处于优势/劣势，因为您比其他人，尤其是您与之竞争的人做更多/更少的准备或了解更多/更少
- We'll be able to extract insights out of the data that will enable us to stay ahead of the game.我们将能够从数据中提取见解，使我们能够保持领先地位。
- Politicians are behind the game in understanding how fast the world is changing.政治家们在背后理解世界变化的速度。

beat somebody at their own game

to defeat or do better than somebody in an activity which they have chosen or in which they think they are strong赢某人的看家本领；打败某人的强项

be a game

to not be considered to be serious不当一回事；当儿戏；闹着玩
- For her the whole project was just a game.对她来说，整个计划不过是场儿戏而已。

be on the game

(British English, slang) to be working as a prostitute做妓女

be out of the game

to no longer have a chance of winning a game or succeeding in an activity that you are taking part in被淘汰出局Topics Difficulty and failurec2

be still/back in the game

to still/once again have a good chance of winning a game or succeeding in an activity that you are taking part in没有出局；仍有获胜（或成功）的机会
- The team was still in the game, just one goal down.这个队还没出局，只落后一球。
- (figurative) He’s been fighting to get the struggling company back in the game.他一直在努力让这家陷入困境的公司重返市场。
Topics Successc2

fun and games

(informal) activities that are not serious and that other people may think are bad嬉戏；欢闹；寻欢作乐
- Teaching isn't all fun and games, you know.教学并非全是嬉戏和玩耍，你晓得吧。

the game is up

(informal) said to somebody who has done something wrong, when they are caught and the crime or trick has been discovered（对做坏事被抓或罪行败露者说的话）戏该收场了，别再演戏了
- Maggie knew that he had recognized her and the game was up.玛吉知道他已经认出了她，比赛结束了。

game on

(informal) used after something has happened that makes it clear that a contest is not yet decided and anyone could still win（赛场局势发生变化后表明）胜负难料
- We were losing 2–0 with ten minutes to go, and then we scored. It was game on!离终场还有十分钟，我们以 0:2 落后，随后我们进球了。谁输谁赢还说不定呢！

game over

(informal) used to say that it is no longer possible for somebody/something to succeed, survive or continue完蛋；败局已定
- Given her recent slump in form, it might be game over already this season.考虑到她最近状态的下滑，本赛季的比赛可能已经结束了。
- This technology could mean game over for gasoline-powered vehicles.这项技术可能意味着汽油动力汽车的游戏结束。
- The slightest mistake and it's game over for him.稍有差池，他就完蛋了。

give the game away

to tell a secret, especially by accident; to show something that should be kept hidden不慎泄露；露馅；露马脚
- Don't let him talk to anybody or he'll give the game away.不要让他和任何人谈话，否则他会泄露秘密的。

a mug’s game

(disapproving, especially British English) an activity that is unlikely to be successful or make a profit徒劳无功的事；不易成功的事；不易获利的事Topics Difficulty and failurec2

the name of the game

(informal) the most important aspect of an activity; the most important quality needed for an activity问题的实质；最为重要的方面
- Hard work is the name of the game if you want to succeed in business.要想生意兴旺，勤奋工作是关键。

(the game is) not worth the candle

(old-fashioned, saying) the advantages to be gained from doing something are not great enough, considering the effort or cost involved得不偿失；代价太高
- If the price goes up again, he may decide that the game’s not worth the candle.如果价格再次上涨，他可能会认为这款游戏得不偿失。

numbers game

a way of considering an activity, etc. that considers only the number of people doing something, things achieved, etc., not with who or what they are数字游戏（即只注重参与的人数、达成了几项结果等，而不考虑参与者是谁、结果是什么）
- MPs were playing the numbers game as the crucial vote drew closer.在至关重要的表决临近时，下院议员们玩起了数字游戏。

off/on your game

performing badly/well, especially when compared with how well you usually perform表现不好／良好
- He was off his game and missed two early penalties.他缺席了比赛并错过了两个早期的点球。

the only game in town

(informal) the most important thing of a particular type, or the only thing that is available同类中最重要的事物；唯一的选择

play (a game of) cat and mouse with somebody | play a cat-and-mouse game with somebody

to play a cruel game with somebody in your power by changing your behaviour very often, so that they become nervous and do not know what to expect和某人玩起猫捉老鼠的游戏；耍弄
- He thought the police were playing some elaborate game of cat and mouse and waiting to trap him.他以为警察正在玩一场精心设计的猫捉老鼠的游戏，等着诱捕他。
- Young car thieves enjoy playing cat and mouse with the police.年轻的盗车贼喜欢与警察玩猫捉老鼠的把戏。

play somebody’s game

to do something that helps somebody else’s plans, especially by accident, when you did not intend to help them（无意中）促成某人的计划

play the game

to behave in a fair and honest way办事公道；为人诚实
- You can’t do that—it’s not playing the game!你不能这么做——这不是在玩游戏！

play (silly) games (with somebody)

not to treat a situation seriously, especially in order to cheat somebody（与某人）耍花招，玩鬼把戏
- Don't play silly games with me; I know you did it.别跟我兜圈子，我知道是你干的。

the rules of the game

the standards of behaviour that most people accept or that actually operate in a particular area of life or business游戏规则；大家共同遵守的行为标准

(have) skin in the game

(North American English, informal) (to have) a personal interest in an organization or activity, and therefore in its success （拥有）对组织或活动的个人兴趣，从而对其成功感兴趣
- When management and unions sit down at the negotiating table, both sides have skin in the game.当管理层和工会坐在谈判桌上时，双方都利益攸关。
- The neutral fan with no skin in the game can just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.没有参与游戏的中立球迷可以坐下来欣赏这一奇观。

talk a good game

to talk in a way that sounds convincing, but may not be sincere说得好听；说得天花乱坠
- The senior managers talk a good game about customer relations, but really they don't care about the customer.高级管理人员说起客户关系头头是道，但实际上他们不在乎客户。

two can play at that game

(saying) used to tell somebody who has played a trick on you that you can do the same thing to them（表示也会对方耍的花招）这一套你会我也会

up your game (informal)

to improve the level at which you can compete, especially in a sport 提高你的竞争水平，尤其是在一项运动中
- She's really upped her game since she joined the tennis club.自从她加入网球俱乐部以来，她的比赛水平确实提高了。
- With these two snazzy new restaurants opening up, the other eating places in the area are going to have to up their game.随着这两家时髦的新餐厅开业，该地区的其他餐饮场所也将不得不加大力度。

what’s somebody’s/your game?

(informal) used to ask why somebody is behaving as they are在干什么；怎么啦