for the love of the game

adverb

Doing something for one's own enjoyment or other intrinsic desire to do so; not for other reasons such as money or other ulterior motives.

“He didn't do it for the money; he did it for the love of the game.”

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Meanings

adverbfor the love of the game (not comparable)
  1. colloquialidiomaticnot comparableDoing something for one's own enjoyment or other intrinsic desire to do so; not for other reasons such as money or other ulterior motives.

    He didn't do it for the money; he did it for the love of the game.

    2 more examples

    Speaking to reporters in Chicago after his daily pickup game, the game's most accomplished player responded to a question about his potential comeback by simply saying: "I'm doing it for the love of the game. Nothing else. For the love the game."

    2001 September 11, Mike Wise, “PRO BASKETBALL: Jordan's Return More Likely As Drama Continues to Build”, in New York Times, archived from the original on 11 May 2014

    Sam Seder: Can you imagine, you sign up to rip women away from their children, to harass and terrorize brown people, to go and throw smoke bombs in front of schools, and you're doing this work, and then all of the sudden you're like "Hey, wait a second. You're not even paying me for this?" David Dayen: You know, I think a lot of them do it for the love of the game, frankly. Sam Seder: That's true, that's probably true.

    2025 October 15, “Noem Goes Full Propaganda Barbie”, in The Majority Report with Sam Seder
Cite this entry
APA

for the love of the game. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20the%20love%20of%20the%20game

MLA

“for the love of the game.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20the%20love%20of%20the%20game. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “for the love of the game,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20the%20love%20of%20the%20game.

Source: for the love of the game on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.