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

But for this team to reach its ceiling, new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will need to get his unit to play up to its paycheck. — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Of course, Graham’s job is to muddy the waters — to play up the socioeconomic biases of his screen persona so that viewers are willing to at least entertain the idea that Miguel has valid reason to be so afraid of everything. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026

The book is enlivened by Andersen’s gift for satire, which plays up the comic potential of ideological extremes. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Unsurprisingly, the Elie Saab H&M collection plays up after-dark glamour, and just in time for holiday party season, too. — Tina Isaac-Goizé, Vogue, 3 Sep. 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