Playing crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Playing” are ROUND, CARDS or ARENA, with 5 letters. Below are 29 answers from 3 to 10 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

BAT 3 letters · noun

a small racket with a long handle used for playing squash

DEAL 4 letters · noun

the act of distributing playing cards “the deal was passed around the table clockwise”

ROUND 5 letters · noun

the activity of playing 18 holes of golf “a round of golf takes about 4 hours”

ACTING 6 letters · noun

the performance of a part or role in a drama

DIAMOND 7 letters · noun

a playing card in the minor suit that has one or more red rhombuses on it “he led a small diamond”

BASEBALL 8 letters · noun

a ball used in playing baseball

DRUMSTICK 9 letters · noun

a stick used for playing a drum

PERFORMING 10 letters · noun

the performance of a part or role in a drama

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, DEAL, DECK and MITT all fit. The third letter tells them all apart: A → DEAL · C → DECK · T → MITT. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, ROUND, CARDS, ARENA, CHOIR, JOKER and GLOVE all fit. The first letter settles most of it: R → ROUND · C → CARDS, CHOIR · A → ARENA · J → JOKER · G → GLOVE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, ACTING, PIPING and BOWING all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: A → ACTING · P → PIPING · B → BOWING. Fill in that crossing answer first.

What “playing” means

• noun: the act of playing a musical instrument
• noun: the action of taking part in a game or sport or other recreation
• noun: the performance of a part or role in a drama

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as PLAYING, and words whose definition is PLAYING. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.