How to Use play down in a Sentence

play down

verb
Definition of play downnext
Synonyms for play downnext
  • The Bengals won’t be a fun team to play down the stretch.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Nov. 2022
  • The Kings built up a big lead and then made enough plays down the stretch to fend off a comeback by the Hawks.
    — Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 23 Jan. 2024
  • There’s so many plays in the sequencing of that big play down there for the goal line fumble.
    — Andrew Gillis, cleveland, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Asked by reporters about prospects for a strike that had yet to be declared, Biden tried to play down the risk.
    — Josh Boak, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2023
  • Fastball in there early and let the offspeed play down.
    — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2022
  • Guys have been making plays down there, finding ways to get into the end zone.
    — Steve Megargee, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Such statements consistently play down the will of the U.S.
    — Nadia Schadlow, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2022
  • Bayern and Kimmich have since tried to play down the incident.
    — Manuel Veth, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
  • But College Park simply wouldn’t go away as the Cougars had to make plays down the stretch to escape with a victory.
    — Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Not playing down to the level of competition and things like that.
    — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 9 Sep. 2023
  • The ability to make plays from the deep middle as well as to drop down and play down low and be a physical player.
    — Dave Birkett, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2022
  • The couple has seemed eager to play down the incident ever since.
    — Mark Landler, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Tate said Hutchinson has continued to make plays down the stretch, no matter if is on the gridiron or the hardwood.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023
  • Already platforms are taking steps to play down Ren’s views.
    — Jane Li, Quartz, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Thanks to clutch play down the stretch, the Eagles defeated the Mavericks, 54-51, Friday night.
    — Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Role Models There was a time, not too long ago, when players tried to play down their motherhood.
    — Juliet MacUr, New York Times, 31 July 2023
  • The Tigers and Cardinals would be playing down the stretch to potentially host first-round games.
    — J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023
  • And the Vatican has been playing down any notions of rapid reform.
    — Kate Brady, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2023
  • The Gunners like to play with intensity and funnel a lot of their attacking play down the left side.
    — Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
  • The Chinese government sought to play down the cancellation of Blinken's trip.
    — Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2023
  • But in the days after the insurrection, Facebook went out of its way to play down the company’s role in what happened on Jan. 6.
    — Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Reed Albergotti, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Oct. 2021
  • Zip ’Em Up got a key play down low from Kerem Kanter, who finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
    — Shelby Dermer, The Enquirer, 22 July 2023
  • Dulin also made two catches in 11-on-11 work, the first on a slant from Ryan, the second on a diving play down the field on a great throw from backup quarterback Nick Foles.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 31 July 2022
  • Blue-chippers who routinely do damage in the offensive zone must bolster their play down the other end of the ice.
    — Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 4 July 2023
  • Yet Sacramento hasn’t kicked the season-long trend of playing down to the competition.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 23 Mar. 2024
  • The young guard confidently knocked down both, just one of her several critical plays down the stretch.
    — Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 31 Jan. 2024
  • His novels have often stemmed from his belief that the legacy of colonization has been played down.
    — Constant Méheut, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Studios can replace them, cancel their movies and shows, or simply play down their roles in productions.
    — Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 14 June 2023
  • Most of them are at pains to play down any of the old hubba-hubba stuff and instead affirm their missions of community and service.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2023
  • That means other role players, such as senior guards Emerson Stark and Foster Scheid, must elevate their play down the stretch.
    — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 2 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: