How to Use play dead in a Sentence

play dead

phrase

• Time to draw the curtains & play dead.
  — Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025
• So the play dead role isn't going to work for me.
  — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
• Play dead, because black bears eat things that play dead or are dead.
  — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 21 June 2022
• In the scene, Hunter was told to lay down in the dirt and play dead.
  — Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
• Will Iran really roll over and play dead like that, though?
  — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 29 Mar. 2026
• More likely, Congress will play dead again.
  — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
• Like its forebears, the comedy is played dead-straight.
  — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
• When threatened, smaller armadillos roll up in a ball and play dead.
  — Marylou Tousignant, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2023
• Playing dead may dissuade a grizzly or brown bear, but never play dead around a black bear.
  — Laken Brooks, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2021
• Instead, the officials called the play dead for some reason.
  — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Nov. 2025
• To play dead, lie as still as possible on your stomach and protect the back of your neck with your hands.
  — Bailey Berg, Anchorage Daily News, 28 June 2021
• If you are attacked by a brown bear, play dead and lay on your stomach with your legs spread and hands clasped behind your head.
  — James Powel, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2024
• If a black bear makes contact, do not play dead, the DNR advised.
  — Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 28 May 2023
• The contestants are told to play dead and slump over, which makes the disparity even more goofy.
  — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
• Some earwigs and other insects play dead when threatened by a predator.
  — Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
• And Democrats are starting to believe that playing nice equates to playing dead.
  — Matt K. Lewis, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
• But, if this isn’t enough to drive away the predators, the malodorous animals play dead.
  — Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024
• Instead, officials blew the play dead because of the two-minute warning.
  — Andrew Greif, NBC News, 23 Sep. 2024
• But the snakes of Golem Grad island — whose main predators are birds — often play dead.
  — Asher Elbein, New York Times, 7 May 2024
• The catch would’ve been ruled good — if only officials hadn’t ruled the play dead before the ball ever took flight.
  — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 29 Aug. 2020
• Unlike safety advice for encountering bears, do not act timid or play dead in front of a cat.
  — Jason Hahn, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2023
• Beetle adults can also fall down and play dead, though some might take flight, and their larvae usually don’t move much.
  — Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 8 Aug. 2024
• The wrecked car was overturned with the nude model sleeping inside—playing dead with help from a mild sedative.
  — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 30 Mar. 2026
• But a select few decide to stay put and play dead instead—and the dice snake sells it particularly well.
  — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 19 June 2024
• Jaylen Wright appeared to stretch the ball over the goal line, but officials had ruled his forward progress was stopped and blew the play dead.
  — Creg Stephenson | [email protected], al, 30 Dec. 2021
• For a sick puppy, the dawg in MacKinnon would sooner play dead than ever phone it in.
  — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 3 Dec. 2025
• Referees whistle play dead after a goalie catches or covers a puck shot in their direction.
  — Kyle Stokes, Axios, 8 Oct. 2024
• The pup delivered a poignant performance in a pivotal scene and even trained for two months to learn how to play dead effectively.
  — Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2024
• The referees did not call the play dead until right as Jackson spiked the ball, with eight seconds remaining.
  — Daniel Oyefusi, baltimoresun.com, 1 Nov. 2020
• Instead of whistling the play dead, the referee on the scene signaled for a goal, giving the Wild a 3-2 win.
  — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 5 Nov. 2025