play itself out
idiom
1
: to take place : happen
This scene plays itself out daily in every large city in this country.
2
: to stop being current or popular
That style of music had played itself out and the record companies wanted something new.
Examples of play itself out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When income is distributed according to a power law, most people will be below the average, and as national economies writ large are increasingly subject to such dynamics, that pattern will play itself out on the national level.
—
Michael Spence, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2014
The fact that this team now has the ability to withstand adversity and play itself out of difficult situations is a testament to the work Nagelsmann has done in just a short time.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024
In the old days, the deciding set of a match would play itself out until one of the players won by two games.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2024
Now, a variety of bad things have to happen in sequence for that worst case to play itself out.
—Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2010
Football is going to play itself out as your backup.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2023
In Singapore a store was forced to shut for 10 days in a bid to let the mayhem play itself out.
—Jeremy White, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023
That is all really going to play itself out in August and September once the guys hit the grass and are with our coaches during training camp and the preseason.
—Scott Patsko, cleveland, 23 Apr. 2021
The answer to the question of who will be under center Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La., will play itself out throughout the week of practice.
—Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 27 Sep. 2021
Michael Spence, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2014
The fact that this team now has the ability to withstand adversity and play itself out of difficult situations is a testament to the work Nagelsmann has done in just a short time.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024
In the old days, the deciding set of a match would play itself out until one of the players won by two games.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2024
Now, a variety of bad things have to happen in sequence for that worst case to play itself out.
—Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2010
Football is going to play itself out as your backup.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2023
In Singapore a store was forced to shut for 10 days in a bid to let the mayhem play itself out.
—Jeremy White, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023
That is all really going to play itself out in August and September once the guys hit the grass and are with our coaches during training camp and the preseason.
—Scott Patsko, cleveland, 23 Apr. 2021
The answer to the question of who will be under center Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La., will play itself out throughout the week of practice.
—Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 27 Sep. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play itself out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near play itself out
Cite this Entry
“Play itself out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20itself%20out. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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