role playing

A form of roleplaying — Action in which a person takes on a role (as that of an actor) and acts out being that character.

Meanings

nounrole playing (usually uncountable, plural role playings)

plural role playings

  1. alternativeuncountableusuallyAlternative form of roleplaying.

    Nola is actually "Nurse Nola," a dominatrix who specializes in medical role playing.

    2006, Bitch: feminist response to pop culture, numbers 31-34
    2 more examples

    “It’s role playing. We’ve done this a lot.” / She gave him a look that hopefully told him she questioned his sanity. “Crazy role playing.” / “Really?” He arched a brow and stepped between her legs. “Crazier than me being the dungeon master? Crazier than naughty virgin school girl, French maid—which I really, really liked—or my absolute favorite, Master and slave?”

    2012, Mia Downing, chapter 6, in Spy Games: Lethal Limits (Spy Games; 2), Adams Basin, N.Y.: The Wild Rose Press, →ISBN, page 95

    As for the MMORPG genre, which, with its elements of co-operation and human interaction, gets closest to the spirit of role playing as Gygax envisioned it, the influence of D&D is just as profound, from Ultima Online, all the way through to Everquest^([sic]) and of course, Dungeons and Dragons Online.

    2008 March 5, Keith Stuart, “Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D, dies at 69”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Oct 2014
verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of role play
Cite this entry
APA

role playing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/role%20playing

MLA

“role playing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/role%20playing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “role playing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/role%20playing.

Source: role playing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.