playoff

1 of 2

noun

play·​off ˈplā-ˌȯf 

variants or less commonly play-off

1

: a final contest, series of contests, or period of play to determine the winner between contestants or teams that have tied

a golf tournament decided by an 18-hole playoff

a sudden-death playoff

2

: a series of contests played after the end of the regular season to determine a championship

—usually plural except when used before another noun

Will you watch the playoffs?

got tickets to a playoff game

play off

2 of 2

verb

played off; playing off; plays off

transitive verb

1

a

: to set in opposition for one's own gain

b

: to set in contrast

2

: to complete the playing of (an interrupted contest)

3

: to break (a tie) by a playoff

Examples of playoff in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Lynx have been the best team in the WNBA all season and appear to be the clear favorites heading into the playoffs. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025

With Adames, the Brewers made the playoffs three out of four seasons. —Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 23 Aug. 2025

Verb

The offense will contain more running and a more diverse screen game, but creating explosive plays off of play action will still sit at the core. —Alec Lewis, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025

Rough cement tiles line the floor, their deeper color playing off the dark stone countertops. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1895, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for playoff

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• runoff

Kids Definition

play-off

1 of 2 noun

ˈplā-ˌȯf

1

: a final contest or series of contests to break a tie

2

: a series of contests played after the end of the regular season to determine a championship

—often used in plural

play off

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)plā-ˈȯf

: to break a tie by a play-off