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
played off; playing off; plays off
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
Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Daboll led New York to a playoff berth and was the AP NFL's Coach of the Year his debut season in 2022, but the Giants went 11-33 the rest of his tenure.
—Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Jan. 2026
Rackets are solid and balls can be played off of walls.
—Dj Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for playoff
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Well up for the fight in front of their boisterous fans at the Estadio da Luz, however, Benfica went ahead 3-1 before half time and secured a heroic 4-2 win, plus qualification to the knockout phase playoff on goal difference, thanks to goalkeeper Anatoli Trubin’s 98th minute header.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Daboll led New York to a playoff berth and was the AP NFL's Coach of the Year his debut season in 2022, but the Giants went 11-33 the rest of his tenure.
—Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
Verb
The real-life friends instigated the project and serve as producers, with their obvious glee in playing off each other adding greatly to the enjoyment.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Jan. 2026
Rackets are solid and balls can be played off of walls.
—Dj Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for playoff
Cite this Entry
“Playoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playoff. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
