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

The fourth member of the household is Terry’s lurking aide, an androgynous aesthete named Steven (theater producer Jordan Roth, playing up the character’s feline strangeness). — Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2026

One option would be Mateo Silvetti as center forward, or perhaps Messi could play up front flanked by Silvetti and Daniel Pinter or Preston Plambeck. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026

Back in Arsenal colours, playing in the midfield trio which included Myles Lewis-Skelly and Havertz, Nwaneri was the one to find pockets of space to help Arsenal progress play up the pitch. — Art De Roché, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026

The biggest obstacle is going to be ocean gusts that in my experience, played up to three clubs. — Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 27 July 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