play to
phrasal verb
played to; playing to; plays to
1
: 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.
2
: 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
Bower found the play to be incredibly helpful in his understanding of Vecna/Henry/One in Stranger Things 5.
—
Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
Weaver entered the game after an injury on the previous play to freshman starter Micah Alejado, who engineered a rally from 21 points down.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 25 Dec. 2025
This is what stands out most on a rewatch of this tape, from Morgan Moses returning to play to tough out a knee injury, the collective resilience to complete an 11-point comeback and overcome key losses of TreVeyon Henderson and Kayshon Boutte among others.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
Which plays to the determination of Lusi’s character, Li.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play to
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
Weaver entered the game after an injury on the previous play to freshman starter Micah Alejado, who engineered a rally from 21 points down.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 25 Dec. 2025
This is what stands out most on a rewatch of this tape, from Morgan Moses returning to play to tough out a knee injury, the collective resilience to complete an 11-point comeback and overcome key losses of TreVeyon Henderson and Kayshon Boutte among others.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
Which plays to the determination of Lusi’s character, Li.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play to
Cite this Entry
“Play to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20to. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share