play to

phrasal verb

played to; playing to; plays to

: to behave or perform in a particular way for (someone or something) in order to get approval or attention

He didn't mean what he was saying. He was just playing to the crowd.

He loves publicity and plays to the cameras every chance he gets.

: to make use of (something)

a film that plays to stereotypes of housewives

In his latest album, he once again plays to his strengths as a classical musician.

Examples of play to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The foundation is sponsoring Monday Mornings at the Movies and the first, held May 6, played to a packed house at the Los Gatos Theatre. —

Debby Rice, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024 Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said focusing on health care plays to Biden's strengths. —

Phil Galewitz, NPR, 20 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for play to

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.