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Synonyms

play up to

Idioms  

  1. Curry favor with, flatter, as in There's no use playing up to the boss; it doesn't influence him. This expression originated about 1800 in the theater, where it meant “to support or assist another actor.” Within a couple of decades it was being used in other venues.

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.

Coach JJ Redick set the play up to miss it to the right side because that was supposed to be the side with just one defender.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

“We didn’t play up to par in the trenches,” Skipper said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025

Bayern could play up to 64 games this season, and again many of their players will also feature in national team games on top of that figure.

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2024

“They didn’t play up to their potential,” Schmetzer said of the entire team.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2024

George would use psychology on him; he’d play up to the vendor’s education.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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.