play to

phrasal 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

Nicholas Meyer brought the franchise back to life with The Wrath of Khan, which pits Kirk against his old nemesis (played to arch perfection by Ricardo Montalban). —Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 30 June 2025

Honduras tops Panama, advances Carlos Pineda scored the decisive goal as Honduras beat Panama 5-4 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night. —David Brandt, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025

The Dolphins hope the work Paul’s put in this offseason will allow his play to stabilize. —Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 29 June 2025

This source also said Trump will continue to play to both sides. —Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 25 June 2025

Rhymes for play to

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