play to

verb

played to; playing to; plays to

1

: to behave or perform in a particular way for (someone or something) in order to get approval or attention

He didn't mean what he was saying. He was just playing to the crowd.

He loves publicity and plays to the cameras every chance he gets.

2

: to make use of (something)

a film that plays to stereotypes of housewives

In his latest album, he once again plays to his strengths as a classical musician.

Examples of play to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bank upgraded its rating on the computer infrastructure play to overweight to equal-weight. — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026

Angel City draws with Seattle The Seattle Reign and Angel City played to a 2-2 draw after visiting Angel City (7-7-4) rallied late in the second half Sunday. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

In the day’s other National Women’s Soccer League matches, Angel City FC and the Seattle Reign played to a 2-2 draw, and Bay FC and the Chicago Stars went scoreless. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026

Perez reached safely on the play to put runners on the corners, and two pitches later, Isaac Collins gave the Royals the lead on an RBI double. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for play to

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou