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Recent Examples of play-off
In great news, the Minnesota Lynx’s were the first team to clinch a play-off spot, a top spot at that.
—
Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Those placed ninth to 24th will square off across two-legged play-off ties to decide who joins those elite eight in the last 16.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
The Maroons ascended back to France's top tier in the summer after winning their play-off match to return after just a single season.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
This includes the promotion/relegation play-off games and the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup next year to kick off the 2026-27 season.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2025
Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Those placed ninth to 24th will square off across two-legged play-off ties to decide who joins those elite eight in the last 16.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
The Maroons ascended back to France's top tier in the summer after winning their play-off match to return after just a single season.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
This includes the promotion/relegation play-off games and the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup next year to kick off the 2026-27 season.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for play-off
Noun
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Savolainen played a huge role in Finland’s historic run in the 2019 hockey women’s world championship, in which the country made it to the final against the United States who, along with Canada, had previously dominated the competition and its gold medal matches.—
Hannah Ryan,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
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Fortson championed the growth of girls wrestling, which included coaching one of his own, Destiny Miles, to individual state championships in 2019 and 2020.—
Rick Kretzschmar,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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El Camino Real will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal between South East and Marquez.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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The men’s hockey semifinal, bronze medal and gold medal games, meanwhile, will command Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena over the next three days.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Her bronze medal final is incredibly close, but Lemley goes big on the jumps, and that's enough to edge out Perrine Laffont for bronze.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
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Kauf, a 29-year-old Colorado native, raced against 2022 individual Olympic champion Jakara Anthony of Australia in the final.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In recent years, the ice was not thick enough to safely support the weight of ATVs, but on the day of this year’s derby, anglers were able to drive their vehicles and grill on the ice like the event was one big tailgate party.—
Karie Angell Luc,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
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Tottenham’s next game is a home north London derby against arch-rivals and Premier League leaders Arsenal.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Play-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/play-off. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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