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
At first, Washington seemed content to let the fighting play itself out.
—
Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2025
The maneuvering between them will likely play itself out over oil and gas resources and export routes, particularly through the region’s largest hydrocarbon producer, Kazakhstan.
—Angus Miller, Foreign Affairs, 19 May 2015
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
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Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2025
The maneuvering between them will likely play itself out over oil and gas resources and export routes, particularly through the region’s largest hydrocarbon producer, Kazakhstan.
—Angus Miller, Foreign Affairs, 19 May 2015
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
Cite this Entry
“Play itself out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20itself%20out. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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