outplay
verb
out·play
ˌau̇t-ˈplā 
outplayed; outplaying; outplays
: to play better than
especially
: to outdo in playing a game
The Knicks took a 21-point lead in the first half, gave up 18 consecutive points in the third quarter, but outplayed the Kings down the stretch to win … —
The Times Union (Albany, New York)
The Times Union (Albany, New York) Examples of outplay in a Sentence
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On Sunday, after soundly outplaying the Broncos in all three phases of the game in a 34-20 Jaguars win, first-year Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen threw a not-so-subtle jab at Payton in the opening minutes of his press conference.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
Sunday’s iteration – David Pastrnak-Pavel Zacha-Casey Mittelstadt – finished minus-2 and were outplayed by the Sens’ big guns.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills didn’t do much to reassure Steelers fans things were taking a turn for the better as Pittsburgh was thoroughly outplayed and the offense struggled to move the chains and put points on the board.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025
And while mistakes were the theme of the first half, Stanford outplayed the Bears over the final two quarters.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 23 Nov. 2025
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Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
Sunday’s iteration – David Pastrnak-Pavel Zacha-Casey Mittelstadt – finished minus-2 and were outplayed by the Sens’ big guns.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills didn’t do much to reassure Steelers fans things were taking a turn for the better as Pittsburgh was thoroughly outplayed and the offense struggled to move the chains and put points on the board.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025
And while mistakes were the theme of the first half, Stanford outplayed the Bears over the final two quarters.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outplay
Cite this Entry
“Outplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outplay. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
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