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

Farrar’s tweet, Phillips said, plays off the dynamic of liberals getting up in arms, and people then making fun of liberals for getting up in arms. — David MacK, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Queen Mary played off those gold elements with her jewelry choices, which included rings, bracelets and bold statement earrings with a teardrop design. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 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