play to

phrasal verb

played to; playing to; plays to

1

: to behave or perform in a particular way for (someone or something) in order to get approval or attention

He didn't mean what he was saying. He was just playing to the crowd.

He loves publicity and plays to the cameras every chance he gets.

2

: to make use of (something)

a film that plays to stereotypes of housewives

In his latest album, he once again plays to his strengths as a classical musician.

Examples of play to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The foundation is sponsoring Monday Mornings at the Movies and the first, held May 6, played to a packed house at the Los Gatos Theatre. —Debby Rice, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024

Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said focusing on health care plays to Biden's strengths. —Phil Galewitz, NPR, 20 May 2024

If the teams split the first two games, a winner-take-all game Saturday afternoon will be played to determine a champion. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2024

Continue reading here Angels box score MLB scores MLB standings GALAXY John McCarthy finished with five saves for the Galaxy and Stefan Frei stopped three shots for Seattle as the Galaxy and Sounders played to a scoreless draw on Sunday. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024

But the side from KC was held scoreless in a match for the first time all year late Wednesday evening, playing to a 0-0 draw against the Seattle Reign at Lumen Field in Seattle. —Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2024

Match 3 in a row and keep playing to continue through the levels of this online puzzle game. —Fox News, 8 May 2024

Defying convention Braden Douglas, founder and CEO of marketing agency Crew Marketing Partners, told Fortune that Target’s play to expand its private brands beyond its own stores isn’t a popular gambit. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 6 May 2024

Forty years into her legendary career, Madonna played to her largest audience ever with a free concert at Copacabana beach Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro that drew 1.6 million people. —Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 5 May 2024