playoff

1 of 2

noun

play·​off ˈplā-ˌȯf 

variants or less commonly play-off

1

: a final contest, series of contests, or period of play to determine the winner between contestants or teams that have tied

a golf tournament decided by an 18-hole playoff

a sudden-death playoff

2

: a series of contests played after the end of the regular season to determine a championship

—usually plural except when used before another noun

Will you watch the playoffs?

got tickets to a playoff game

play off

2 of 2

verb

played off; playing off; plays off

transitive verb

1

a

: to set in opposition for one's own gain

—used with against

They have been playing him off against his old enemies.

b

: to set in contrast

chose a sweet wine to play off the sharp cheese

2

: to complete the playing of (an interrupted contest)

3

: to break (a tie) by a playoff

Examples of playoff in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Chicago will play its first playoff game at home since 2021 on Wednesday. — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026

Among the sellout crowd at Wednesday's White Sox playoff game were more a group of students from a nearby Catholic school, who scored seats thanks to a friendly wager. — Victor Jacobo, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Verb

Because VisionQuest, like so many of the studio’s products being whisked off its multimedia assembly line, is not just designed to play off previous installments. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026

Conwell, who was acquired by the Heat in the second round of this year’s draft, played off the bench on Saturday and flashed his potential after a quiet start to the preseason. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1895, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for playoff

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• runoff

Kids Definition

play-off

1 of 2 noun

ˈplā-ˌȯf

1

: a final contest or series of contests to break a tie

2

: a series of contests played after the end of the regular season to determine a championship

—often used in plural

play off

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)plā-ˈȯf

: to break a tie by a play-off