overplay

verb

over·​play ˌō-vər-ˈplā How to pronounce overplay (audio)
overplayed; overplaying; overplays

transitive verb

1
a
: to present (a dramatic role) extravagantly : exaggerate
b
: to place too much emphasis on
2
: to rely too much on the strength of
usually used in the phrase overplay one's hand
3
: to strike a golf ball beyond (a putting green)

intransitive verb

: to exaggerate a part or effect

Examples of overplay in a Sentence

The network news overplayed the story just to get good ratings. He overplayed the death scene.
Recent Examples on the Web Sociologist Barry Glassner, author of The Culture of Fear, highlights that societies frequently overplay dangers and underplay resilience, especially in the media. Margie Warrell, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 One risk: that the BOJ overplaying its hand on rate cuts might tip an underperforming economy into recession. William Pesek, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024 But as her shell cracks, Dern moves from perplexity to anguish to incandescent rage, never once overplaying her hand. Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 8 May 2024 Mac is well aware that the Internationals are the underdogs in this contest, but the extent of the American advantage is also often overplayed by the media, which solely focuses on the end results and pays short thrift to the numerous close matches that could’ve really gone either way. Mike Dojc, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for overplay 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of overplay was in 1767

Dictionary Entries Near overplay

Cite this Entry

“Overplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overplay. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

overplay

verb
over·​play ˌō-vər-ˈplā How to pronounce overplay (audio)
1
: exaggerate, overemphasize
newspapers overplayed the story
2
: to rely too much on the strength of
overplayed my hand and lost

More from Merriam-Webster on overplay

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!