play up

verb

played up; playing up; plays up

transitive verb

: emphasize

In the interview, try to play up your strengths.

also : exaggerate, overemphasize

It was only a small achievement but the CEO really played it up.

Synonyms of play up

• highlight
• emphasize
• stress
• feature
• point (up)

Examples of play up in a Sentence

that TV news program plays up sensational stories just to get higher ratings

Recent Examples on the Web

Aledo’s path ahead is treacherous The Aledo Bearcats didn’t play up to their standard in the beginning of the season. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Nov. 2026

Rounding out the group, Wong played up her bare-faced beauty with a sleek middle part, allowing her jet-black locks to fall straight down her back. — Arushi Jacob, Footwear News, 9 Nov. 2026

In fact, Seaver claimed Nozell urged him to publicly play up his military and security history before trying to use those ties as evidence that Seaver was dangerous and threatening. — News Editor, CBS News, 9 Nov. 2026

November is the time to play up your outerwear game, and this leopard-print coat feels like it was plucked straight from my mood board. — Olivia Cigliano, InStyle, 4 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for play up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

play up

verb

: emphasize