play out

British  

verb

1. (tr) to finish

   let's play the game out if we aren't too late

2. informal (tr; often passive) to use up or exhaust

3. (tr) to release gradually

   he played the rope out

4. (intr) to happen or turn out

   Let's wait and see how things play out

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play out Idioms  

1. Finish, run out, as in This extreme fashion will soon play out , or The tension between factions will surely play itself out by next year . [Late 1500s]

2. Unwind, unreel, as in They slowly played out the cable . Also see played out .

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Example Sentences

The 38-year-old exporter had a shipment of hair clips and playdough scheduled to arrive at Dubai’s port from China just as the conflict broke out in late February.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

"It is like using the same playdough over and over again."

From BBC • Jul. 27, 2023

This week, my kids learned about porcupines, met sweet Rico, and used playdough and some toothpicks to make their own porcupine.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2020

Some engaged in make-believe beneath the boughs of a giant cedar, some smashed playdough on a giant, wood stump and others explored spider webs in the crevices of a mulch pit.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2016

Try different texture materials, rough like sandpaper, raised like playdough and pom-poms, or pipe cleaners—check art supply stores for variety to suit lesson plan.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• become
• come to be
• end up
• eventually be
• finish as
• turn out to be