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

See Examples For:

play out

Infante remembers watching that contradiction play out in real time.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

I’ve watched that story play out many times with elite athletes.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

For a sense of how that could play out, look at 2022, the last sustained bear market, when surging inflation and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate increases hammered high-multiple tech.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Kate Huckelbridge, executive director of the coastal commission, said many questions remain as to how the process will play out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

But events did not play out as Haig had planned.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

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