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

That’s certainly true, in the sense that entanglements among ancient, telepathic beings play out on a time scale us humans struggle to comprehend. —Alison Herman, Variety, 7 June 2026

So maybe asking the Friar Faithful to take a breath and let things play out over a full season — or at least until the All-Star break — is too much to ask amid the Padres’ struggles. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026

Williams is most definitely not playing out the string. —Cam Inman, Mercury News, 7 June 2026

What happened next plays out in footage that went viral around the world. —Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 6 June 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