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

—used with against

They have been playing him off against his old enemies.

b

: to set in contrast

chose a sweet wine to play off the sharp cheese

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

Nico Hoerner got the Cubs’ only hit off King with a one-out infield single in the seventh, but King racked up two more strikeouts to earn the last of several standing ovations from the raucous sellout crowd watching his third career playoff start. — ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026

After the Royals missed the playoffs for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons and for the 37th time in the past 40 years, fans hoped the team would make some wholesale changes. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026

Verb

Queen Mary played off those gold elements with her jewelry choices, which included rings, bracelets and bold statement earrings with a teardrop design. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026

The promo plays off Brunson’s actual New York City credentials. — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2026

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