play down
Britishverb
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Make little of, minimize the importance of, as in A skillful salesman plays down the drawbacks of the product and emphasizes its good features . [First half of 1900s]
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play down to . Lower one's standards to meet the demands of someone, as in Some stand-up comics deliberately play down to the vulgar taste of their audiences . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But that is to play down the remarkable life and career of Fontaine - who, if he were playing in the modern day, would have represented a different country.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
China sought to play down the event as unexceptional, even as some countries in the region were quick to criticize it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Traders will be closely monitoring Warsh’s commentary to see if he decides to play down the risk that sharper inflation could pressure the central bank to hike rates, Cboe’s Kinahan said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Rubio, a devout Catholic, sought to play down the rift ahead of the private audience, which will be followed by talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
But I held back because I wanted now to play down his theory.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
