played out
Idioms-
See play out .
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Exhausted, worn out, as in This was the third trip the mules had made, and they were utterly played out . [Mid-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.
On a beach in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Palestinian territory, another high-stakes football showcase was being played out far from the global spotlight.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Similar scenes played out on the Metro K Line as World Cup-goers from all over traded stories of how they scored tickets, tips for navigating L.A.’s transit system, and wistful memories of tournaments past.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026
The longer-term math is friendlier: Against 2029 earnings, Humana trades at roughly 12 times, a more reasonable bet on what the business will look like once the recovery has played out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
For several hours overnight, the battle played out in public view.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026
The strange scenes played out on the TV news each night—Khrushchev cracking jokes with farmers, chowing down in corporate cafeterias, watching a movie being filmed in a Hollywood studio.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
