play up

British  

verb

1. (tr) to emphasize or highlight

   to play up one's best features

2. informal to behave irritatingly (towards)

3. informal (intr) (of a machine, car, etc) to function erratically

   the car is playing up again

4. informal to hurt; give (one) pain or trouble

   my back's playing me up again

5. 1. to support (another actor) in a performance

   2. to try to gain favour with by flattery

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play up Idioms  

1. Emphasize or publicize, as in In the press interview, the coach played up the importance of having a strong defense. [c. 1900] Also see play down; play up to.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

play up

“You don’t play up to a good team and down to a team that is not as good. You stay consistently great,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Many Jews, Ms. Horn explains, have felt pressured to make non-Jews comfortable about their presence “through self-deprecating and ultimately humiliating public displays in popular culture,” which often play up stereotypes in Jewish humor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Leading Premier League clubs also compete for as many as four different trophies every season, meaning the best players are asked to play up to 60 games in a single campaign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Whereas Cheap Trick used to play up to 250 shows a year in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the band now averages about 75.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

Even the doctors and nurses play up to this: a donor on a fourth will go in for a check and be greeted by whitecoats smiling and shaking their hand.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• point up