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
The inviting Crawford Boxes in Houston should play to his strength.
—
Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
This would play to Russia’s tactical advantages in the frontline fight.
—Niall Ferguson, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024
Melbourne, Australia → Swift performs in front of 96,000 people, the biggest crowd she's ever played to on the Eras Tour.
—Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
This perhaps plays to Matthews’s 1962 conclusion: almost forty years after Breton’s first attempt to define the genre, members of the surrealist movement remained active, using any means to pursue their ends.
—Noor Anand Chawla, JSTOR Daily, 9 Dec. 2024
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Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
This would play to Russia’s tactical advantages in the frontline fight.
—Niall Ferguson, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024
Melbourne, Australia → Swift performs in front of 96,000 people, the biggest crowd she's ever played to on the Eras Tour.
—Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
This perhaps plays to Matthews’s 1962 conclusion: almost forty years after Breton’s first attempt to define the genre, members of the surrealist movement remained active, using any means to pursue their ends.
—Noor Anand Chawla, JSTOR Daily, 9 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for play to
Dictionary Entries Near play to
Cite this Entry
“Play to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20to. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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