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Synonyms

play-off

American  
[pley-awf, -of] / ˈpleɪˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

  1. (in competitive sports) the playing of an extra game, rounds, innings, etc., in order to settle a tie.

  2. a series of games or matches, as between the leading teams of two leagues, in order to decide a championship.

    In America the most exciting play-off is the World Series.
play off British  

verb

  1. to deal with or manipulate as if in playing a game

    to play one person off against another

  2. (intr) to take part in a play-off

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. sport an extra contest to decide the winner when two or more competitors are tied

  2. a contest or series of games to determine a championship, as between the winners of two competitions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
play off Idioms  

  1. See under play both ends against the middle .

  2. Break a tie by playing an additional game or period, as in Each team had won three games so they had to play off the tie to decide the championship .

Etymology

Origin of play-off

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase play off

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.

This may not be the fluent City of recent past, but they showed steel to dig deep as Newcastle made light of their 5,000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in the Champions League play-off, pushing them all the way.

From BBC

Drained by a 5,000-mile round trip to Baku for their Champions League play-off first leg against Qarabag on Wednesday, Newcastle had persuaded the Premier League to move their trip to Manchester to Saturday evening from its original early slot.

From Barron's

Atletico host Club Brugge on Tuesday in a crucial Champions League play-off second leg clash, following a 3-3 first leg draw in Belgium on Wednesday.

From Barron's

Doue came into the Paris starting line-up against Metz after being introduced off the bench for the injured Ousmane Dembele and then scoring twice in the 3-2 midweek win away to Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase play-off tie.

From Barron's

The match at the Parc des Princes comes in between the two legs of PSG's Champions League knockout phase play-off against Monaco, who head to the capital on Wednesday for the return after losing 3-2 at home last Tuesday.

From Barron's

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.