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
Flacco then needed only six plays to find Andrei Iosivas for the go-ahead score.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2025
At least Nuno’s counterattacking style should play to his strengths — no player has scored a higher share of goals from fast breaks since 2019-20.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Way to play to old stereotypes.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
All the characters come in playing to an arrangement that has about fifty guitars in it.
—Alan Light, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play to
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Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2025
At least Nuno’s counterattacking style should play to his strengths — no player has scored a higher share of goals from fast breaks since 2019-20.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Way to play to old stereotypes.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
All the characters come in playing to an arrangement that has about fifty guitars in it.
—Alan Light, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play to
Cite this Entry
“Play to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20to. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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