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
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
Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 6 Apr. 2024
The Mavs have clinched a post in the playoffs and have five games left to improve their seeding.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Apr. 2024
The playoff race is tight, every game, every result seemingly around the league having some kind of impact on the Lakers and their positioning in the back portion of the race (despite being 11 games over .500).
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Related Articles Fighting for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference playoffs is a far cry from the battle of Western titans.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Like a loss in the playoffs, voter rejection of a stadium tax plan will force the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs to reevaluate their approach.
—David A. Lieb, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Apr. 2024
Kylie and Jason officially met the Grammy winner during the Chiefs' game against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 21 — the playoff game where Jason famously doffed his shirt and chugged a few beers.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
At a Phillies playoff game last year, one fan bought forty-five hundred dollars’ worth of beer for his entire section.
—Adam Elder, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
From there, the winner of the 2-3 matchup in each division faces the winner of the division champion-wild card playoff matchup in Round 2.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
Herro, who started in his first 36 appearances this season prior to the foot injury, played off the bench on Friday for the first time since the 2021-22 season when he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2024
Each episode features two dates which, as Variety has observed, play off each other.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
He’s become an efficiency monster playing off the Lakers’ top offense options.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
The A-list voice cast really boosts the way the characters play off each other, with most of the key players back (including McShane), Davis sinking her teeth into the venomous baddie and Ke Huy Quan among the other additions.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
The competition for the prestigious honor is stiff because of the high level of play off the bench from Sacramento’s Malik Monk, Cleveland’s Caris LeVert, Minnesota’s Naz Reid, Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr., Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis Jr. and Utah’s Jordan Clarkson.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
In an Instagram post, Lively seemingly played off the controversy around Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
To play off this idea, the curators organized the show chronologically, incorporating each of these media into various sections, inspired by Takaezu’s own installations.
—John Wogan Juliet Izon Gisela Williams Lindsey Tramuta Julia Halperin Jameson Montgomery, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
The Celtics, who clinched the NBA’s best record with Wednesday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, are managing their stars before the playoffs begin April 20, coach Joe Mazzulla said before the game.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 6 Apr. 2024
The Mavs have clinched a post in the playoffs and have five games left to improve their seeding.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Apr. 2024
The playoff race is tight, every game, every result seemingly around the league having some kind of impact on the Lakers and their positioning in the back portion of the race (despite being 11 games over .500).
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Related Articles Fighting for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference playoffs is a far cry from the battle of Western titans.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Like a loss in the playoffs, voter rejection of a stadium tax plan will force the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs to reevaluate their approach.
—David A. Lieb, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Apr. 2024
Kylie and Jason officially met the Grammy winner during the Chiefs' game against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 21 — the playoff game where Jason famously doffed his shirt and chugged a few beers.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
At a Phillies playoff game last year, one fan bought forty-five hundred dollars’ worth of beer for his entire section.
—Adam Elder, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
From there, the winner of the 2-3 matchup in each division faces the winner of the division champion-wild card playoff matchup in Round 2.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Aperol and the St. Germain play off each other in a really lovely way on the finish, and the bold lingering complexity of Champagne distracts a bit from that show, too many voices at once.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
Herro, who started in his first 36 appearances this season prior to the foot injury, played off the bench on Friday for the first time since the 2021-22 season when he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2024
Each episode features two dates which, as Variety has observed, play off each other.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
He’s become an efficiency monster playing off the Lakers’ top offense options.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
The A-list voice cast really boosts the way the characters play off each other, with most of the key players back (including McShane), Davis sinking her teeth into the venomous baddie and Ke Huy Quan among the other additions.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
The competition for the prestigious honor is stiff because of the high level of play off the bench from Sacramento’s Malik Monk, Cleveland’s Caris LeVert, Minnesota’s Naz Reid, Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr., Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis Jr. and Utah’s Jordan Clarkson.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
In an Instagram post, Lively seemingly played off the controversy around Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
To play off this idea, the curators organized the show chronologically, incorporating each of these media into various sections, inspired by Takaezu’s own installations.
—John Wogan Juliet Izon Gisela Williams Lindsey Tramuta Julia Halperin Jameson Montgomery, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'playoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Playoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playoff. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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