play out

verb

played out; playing out; plays out

transitive verb

1

a

: to perform to the end

play out a role

b

: use up, finish

play out the season

2

: unreel, unfold

… played out a length of line.

—Gordon Webber

intransitive verb

1

: to become spent or exhausted

a style that has played out

2

: develop, unfold

see how things play out

Synonyms of play out

• spend
• consume
• drain
• exhaust
• draw down
• run out of
• use up
• reduce
• absorb
• use

Examples of play out in a Sentence

we've finally played out the leftovers from that huge holiday meal

Recent Examples on the Web

Well, that didn’t play out exactly as hoped. —Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 24 May 2026

And watching how this plays out will be very important. —CBS News, 24 May 2026

That dynamic has played out across discretionary spending categories, like retail, dining and travel, as Americans grapple with persistent inflation, economic uncertainty and, now, soaring gas prices. —Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 23 May 2026

But needy, possessive Nikki smothers Bear, and what plays out is a horrifying tale of obsessive love gone wrong — sour, curdled and violent. —Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for play out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

play out

verb

1

: to perform to the end

2

a

: to use up or finish

b

: to become exhausted : tire

3

: unreel, unfold