How to Use make a play for in a Sentence

make a play for

phrase
  • Just trying to make a play for my team.
    David Aldridge, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Good for Bacon to step up and make a play for us early there.
    oregonlive, 15 Nov. 2020
  • Democrats should make a play for all green-minded voters—even those wearing red hats.
    Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
  • Ironically, both sides make a play for better long-term returns.
    Chris Carosa, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Democrats had also hoped to make a play for the Iowa Senate seat held by Grassley.
    Jonathan Weisman, BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2022
  • Zhao, one of FTX’s first investors, stepped in to make a play for his former rival.
    Brian Cheung, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2022
  • Bo Nix should probably throw a better ball, but Franklin needs to make a play for his quarterback there.
    Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The question now is whether or not the club can right itself in time to make a play for advancing to the knockout stage of the competition.
    Pat Brennan, The Enquirer, 12 July 2020
  • Whether that's a stop, make a play for somebody else, take a charge, get a 50/50 ball, stop an offensive rebound.
    Mark Medina, USA TODAY, 19 July 2021
  • If Garrett does indeed truly become available on the open market, a handful of teams will surely try to make a play for him.
    Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Lohani, who is studying Tata’s foray into airlines, says the group should make a play for Air India.
    Ragini Saxena, Bloomberg.com, 6 Dec. 2020
  • And Robinson is every bit as deserving of similar consideration among teams who have the cap space to make a play for his services.
    Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026
  • The centre-back had little choice but to make a play for the ball, mistiming his challenge and seeing red after a lengthy VAR review.
    Thom Harris, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
  • While neither is projected to make a play for All-Defensive teams in the near future, having agile size like that will make life tougher on opposing guards.
    Morten Jensen, Forbes, 17 Apr. 2022
  • With 19 seconds on the shot clock and just under three minutes left in the first quarter against Washington, Hart didn’t swing the ball or make a play for a teammate.
    Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2026
  • With no first-round pick this year, Miami also would have to do some maneuvering to make a play for Jackson, as the team cannot currently sign him to an offer sheet.
    Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2023
  • The Niners are one game back of the Seahawks for the division lead while the Cardinals, at 4-6, are looking to make a play for the wild card.
    Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 21 Nov. 2022
  • But his performance didn’t quiet the questions about whether the Ravens should make a play for free agent Ryan Tannehill or look for an upgrade elsewhere at backup quarterback.
    Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 5 Aug. 2024
  • In a digital mashup that could reshape the retail landscape, Walmart is teaming up with Microsoft to make a play for the video app TikTok.
    Charisse Jones, USA TODAY, 27 Aug. 2020
  • Several other new albums debut inside the top 10 on the platform and make a play for the highest space, including major releases from various genres.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Also, any bidder with the scale and resources to make a play for EA will likely want to see how the Microsoft-Activision deal plays out with regulators.
    Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022
  • Much of the content of the letters is about wider issues of diplomacy than simply Mary’s attempts to reclaim the throne of Scotland or make a play for the throne of England, Doran says.
    Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 8 Feb. 2023
  • Of course, Kranz himself could make a play for the breakthrough director, but that category seems to be dominated by women, similar to last year when three of the five were occupied by female filmmakers.
    Clayton Davis, Variety, 20 Oct. 2021
  • Davidson could make a play for a top-tier forward to complement Connor Bedard regardless of what happens with Jones, but there is no guarantee that caliber of player will hit the market.
    Scott Powers, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
  • It could be argued this is an attempt by NBC to make a play for a broader audience, bearing in mind that late-night guests tend to overwhelmingly lean to the left of the ideological divide.
    Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Meanwhile, there’s been speculation that Sony might make a play for WBD, but sources tell Variety the company is not interested.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025
  • To truly make a play for independent and moderate voters, the GOP will need to develop a policy agenda that similarly goes on the offensive.
    Patrick T. Brown, CNN, 10 Mar. 2023
  • When Durant requested a trade from the Nets last summer, there were questions about whether the Celtics could make a play for the star forward to pair him with Tatum and create one of the most explosive wing pairings the game has ever seen.
    Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Netflix Head-Scratcher Comments by Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters during the company’s quarterly earnings interview this week signaled to some on Wall Street that the giant streamer may make a play for WBD.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are among the teams that could make a play for Antetokounmpo.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 28 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'make a play for.' 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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