variants
or less commonly play-off
1
: a final contest, series of contests, or period of play to determine the winner between contestants or teams that have tied
a golf tournament decided by an 18-hole playoff
a sudden-death playoff
2
: a series of contests played after the end of the regular season to determine a championship
—usually plural except when used before another noun
Will you watch the playoffs?
got tickets to a playoff game
played off; playing off; plays off
1
a
: to set in opposition for one's own gain
b
: to set in contrast
2
: to complete the playing of (an interrupted contest)
3
: to break (a tie) by a playoff
Examples of playoff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 2 Feb. 2025
General manager Chris Drury made a big play adding Miller on Friday night, but this is still a team sitting 5 points away from a playoff spot with 31 games to go, and the 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins demonstrated Drury’s work is likely far from over in this season of change.
—Arthur Staple, The Athletic, 2 Feb. 2025
Zach Harper, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
Dishes play off of each other in delightful ways, like the translucent half-moon of shrimp carpaccio, topped with shavings of sea bream bottarga and dancing in a bergamot and almond oil dressing.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 28 Jan. 2025
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Noun
Referees came under similar scrutiny during the Chiefs' divisional round playoff win against the Houston Texans one week earlier when a pair of roughing the passer penalties were called against the Texans for hits on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 2 Feb. 2025
General manager Chris Drury made a big play adding Miller on Friday night, but this is still a team sitting 5 points away from a playoff spot with 31 games to go, and the 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins demonstrated Drury’s work is likely far from over in this season of change.
—Arthur Staple, The Athletic, 2 Feb. 2025
Verb
Ingram can run some of the offense through his hands or play off Barnes or Barrett by stretching the floor.
—Zach Harper, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
Dishes play off of each other in delightful ways, like the translucent half-moon of shrimp carpaccio, topped with shavings of sea bream bottarga and dancing in a bergamot and almond oil dressing.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 28 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for playoff
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Cite this Entry
“Playoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/playoff. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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