parallel play

noun

A form of play involving two or more people doing the same play activity in the same location but without paying attention to one another.

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Meanings

nounparallel play (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA form of play involving two or more people doing the same play activity in the same location but without paying attention to one another.
verbparallel play (third-person singular simple present parallel plays, present participle parallel playing, simple past and past participle parallel played)

present singular third person parallel plays · participle present parallel playing · participle past parallel played · past parallel played

  1. To engage in this form of play.

    I got some legos and parallel played, imitating her actions. Upon my entering her play she tried to engage me in the chase game again.

    1999, Deborah Abelman, Peer-mediated Intervention Strategies for Social Competency Skills of Preschoolers with Autism in Integrated Settings, page 68
Cite this entry
APA

parallel play. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parallel%20play

MLA

“parallel play.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parallel%20play. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parallel play,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parallel%20play.

Source: parallel play on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.