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play off. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
play off, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
play off in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
play off you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Verb
play off (third-person singular simple present plays off, present participle playing off, simple past and past participle played off)
- (transitive, often with as) To portray (something) (as unimportant); to dismiss or make light of (a factor in a situation, or one's embarrassment about it); to pretend not to be embarrassed, upset, impressed, or otherwise affected by (it).
- Coordinate terms: laugh away, laugh off, style it out
After tripping, Sara tried to play her embarrassment off by laughing with everyone else.
Although he's obviously hung over, he's trying to play it off as food poisoning.
- (transitive) To set (other people) against one another: to induce competition between them, especially in a covert way so that they do not realize the degree to which they have been played (manipulated).
Stalin's propensity to play off his subordinates against one another is a well-studied theme.
- (sports, intransitive, transitive) To compete in a play-off; to compete against (an opponent) in a play-off.
- (dated, transitive) To display; to show; to put in exercise.
to play off tricks
Derived terms