play out

verb

played out; playing out; plays out

transitive verb

1

a

: to perform to the end

play out a role

b

: use up, finish

play out the season

2

: unreel, unfold

… played out a length of line.

—Gordon Webber

intransitive verb

1

: to become spent or exhausted

a style that has played out

2

: develop, unfold

see how things play out

Synonyms of play out

• spend
• consume
• drain
• exhaust
• draw down
• run out of
• use up
• reduce
• absorb
• use

Examples of play out in a Sentence

we've finally played out the leftovers from that huge holiday meal

Recent Examples on the Web

Rural Republicans For voters in many parts of the country, the debate over AI policy has played out locally as a debate over the massive data centers required to power the technology. —Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026

The lone bright spot from the midfield was the solid presence of Pedri who played out of position and still had a decent all-around performance, but even he was criticized by many on social media for falling into a familiar trap. —Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 21 June 2026

How that is playing out in terms of stylistic difference will have to be weighed by bootleg-favoring Dylanologists who are more attuned to the subtleties of band interplay. —Chris Willman, Variety, 21 June 2026

While this exact ability doesn't play out in the corporate landscape, there's still some mimicry. —Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for play out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

play out

verb

1

: to perform to the end

2

a

: to use up or finish

b

: to become exhausted : tire

3

: unreel, unfold