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 Flores made up for the mistake in the sixth inning, making a diving play to give the Bearcats some momentum heading into their final offensive chance. —

Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 May 2024 And in one of their biggest moments yet in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Panthers pulled off that play to perfection. —

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 29 May 2024 The most painful lesson came in the final 30 seconds as the Sky attempted to execute a play to set up Marina Mabrey for a game-tying 3-pointer. —

Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2024 Besides the usual narrative challenges of adapting a play to opera, Chen needed to present a different gender dynamic. —

Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 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.