play it safe

English

Alternative forms

• play safe

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

play it safe (third-person singular simple present plays it safe, present participle playing it safe, simple past and past participle played it safe)

1. To take a cautious, risk-free approach.

   Antonyms: play big, go all in

   Deciding to play it safe, he joined his father's accounting firm rather than pursue an acting career.

Translations

take a cautious, risk-free approach

• Dutch: op zeker spelen, op veilig spelen, het zekere voor het onzekere nemen
• Finnish: pelata varman päälle
• French: jouer petit bras, jouer la carte de la sécurité
• German: auf Nummer sicher gehen (de)
• Polish: dmuchać na zimne (pl) impf
• Spanish: jugar a lo seguro, curarse en salud
• Turkish: garantiye almak, sağlama almak

See also

• hedge one's bets
• on the safe side

Further reading

• “play it safe”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “play it safe”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “play it safe”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.