Meaning of play off | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To portray (something) (as unimportant); to dismiss or make light of (a factor in a situation, or one's embarrassment about it); to pretend not to be embarrassed, upset, impressed, or otherwise affected by (it).
   often, transitive
2. To set (other people) against one another: to induce competition between them, especially in a covert way so that they do not realize the degree to which they have been played (manipulated).
   transitive
3. To compete in a play-off; to compete against (an opponent) in a play-off.
   intransitive, transitive
4. To display; to show; to put in exercise.
   dated, transitive

Equivalents

Examples

“After tripping, Sara tried to play⟳ her embarrassment off by laughing with everyone else.”

“Although he's obviously hungover, he's trying to play⟳ it off as food poisoning.”

“Stalin's propensity to play⟳ off his subordinates against one another is a well-studied theme.”

“to play⟳ off tricks”

CEFR level