play to

phrasal verb

played to; playing to; plays to

: to behave or perform in a particular way for (someone or something) in order to get approval or attention

He didn't mean what he was saying. He was just playing to the crowd.

He loves publicity and plays to the cameras every chance he gets.

: to make use of (something)

a film that plays to stereotypes of housewives

In his latest album, he once again plays to his strengths as a classical musician.

Examples of play to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The listing suggests adding a stage to host concerts and plays to liven up the venue during the movie season. —

Jordan Green, Detroit Free Press, 12 June 2024 In so doing, Apple is playing to its strengths and addressing its biggest weakness. —

Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 June 2024 The teams played to five innings, with the score tied 14-all in the fifth. —

Kylie Volavongsa, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2024 This is not the kind of play to abandon you in a dark alley, even if Cephus’s distaste for city life is the most compelling and counterintuitive part of the story. —

Jesse Green, New York Times, 6 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for play to

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.