play to

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

Roberts helped wear the dynamic defense down while OC Chip Lindsey called plays to get Lee the ball in space. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2026

This time, there was no big chunk play to get them down to the red zone. — Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026

In other National Women’s Soccer League matches, Angel City secured a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit, while the Portland Thorns and Houston Dash played to a 1-1 draw. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

Georgia needed only 24 offensive plays to storm out to a 28-0 halftime lead as its defense forced and feasted on Oklahoma errors. — Mike Griffith, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for play to

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou