An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'play out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
This post is all about the phrasal verb 'play out', which is a lesser known phrasal verb with a surprising number of meanings. In the post, I will cover all of the meanings that it has in everyday English and provide you with lots of example sentences in context to help you understand when to use them. So, read on to find out more about this mysterious but useful little phrasal verb....
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PLAY OUT: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 7 |
Past tense forms | Played out / Played out |
Separable? | Sometimes |
THE BASICS
As is customary on Phrasal Verbs Explained, we'll begin our analysis of the phrasal verb 'play out' by considering the meanings of the words 'play' and 'out'.
Our base verb in this phrasal verb construction is 'to play', which is an extremely common regular verb in English that primarily means to spend time doing something fun or recreational and is typically used in reference to sport and games. In addition to this meaning, the verb 'to play' is also used to refer to performing a role or acting and using a musical instrument to make music.
When I was younger, I used to play with the other children from my street.
John plays football every Saturday.
Can you play chess?
My nephew spends all day playing video games.
The actor plays the lead role in this Hollywood movie.
I learned to play the piano when I was a child.
The second word in our phrasal verb construction 'out' is one that you will know very well as it is extremely common. It mainly functions as a preposition and adverb but also exists as an adjective, verb and noun. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'out' can convey meanings related to the ideas of revelation (find out), expansion (spread out), removal (cut out) and conclusion (run out). This latter usage is very relevant to some of the meanings of 'play out' that we will cover shortly.
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at he different meanings of the phrasal verb 'play out'....
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To play |
Separable? | No |
We'll begin our exploration of the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'play out' with the most straightforward one, which is the literal interpretation of the combination of the two words, namely 'to play outside'.
This application is used specifically for children, who typically spend a lot of time playing with their friends rather than working and earning money. It is used to talk about when they play somewhere outside, such as the street, a garden, a park or cycling around on bicycles. Essentially, it covers any form of free play that does not occur inside a house or place of residence.
I used to spend a lot of time in my childhood playing out with my friends and I have very fond memories of those times, however I feel like children don't play out so much these days since they always seem to be in the house playing video games etc. Is it the same in your country? Let me know in the comments; I would love to read your thoughts!
As children, we loved to play out in the park until it got dark.
It’s a beautiful day; why don’t you play out in the garden for a while?
When we were kids, we used to play out in the street with our neighbours every evening.
The teacher allowed the students to play out in the schoolyard during their break.
Kath told her son to play out for an hour instead of staying inside with his video games.
MEANING 2: To develop in a specific way and reach a conclusion
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | British English |
Potential synonyms | To turn out, to unfold, to happen, to develop, to occur, to take place, to come about, to conclude, to end, to finish |
Separable? | No |
The second application of 'play out' is an idiomatic usage that means 'to develop in a specific way and reach a conclusion' and I would say that this is the most common of all of its different meanings in everyday English.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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You may have noted from the list above that this application of 'play out' is used with nouns for stories and things that develop and change over time, rather than for nouns for constant or unchanging things. This is because we use this application of 'play out' for human situations which change and develop over time until they come to a natural end.
Most of the time, we use this application when there is a current or ongoing situation between different people, groups or countries, which may be political, social or economic. As we are not able to predict the future, we do not know how the situation will develop or unfold over time or how it will end or 'play out'.
Moreover, we tend not to use it if we are an active participant in the situation with the power to change the outcome; it is more of a passive thing, a bit like you are watching a show or play at a theatre.
We don’t know how the negotiations will play out yet, but we’re hoping for a positive outcome.
Let’s wait and see how things play out before we make any drastic decisions.
The drama between the two politicians played out on live television.
No one could have predicted how the situation would play out in the end.
The crisis played out over several weeks, with new developments emerging every day.
Simon and Suzanne's argument played out in front of everyone at the party, making things really awkward.
The detective watched the events play out from a distance, waiting for the right moment to step in.
History has a way of playing out in cycles, with similar patterns repeating over time.
Their relationship played out like a classic love story, full of ups and downs.
The war played out over several years, reshaping the entire region.
Additionally, we can use 'play out' in this way to talk about scenes or situations that happen on a large scale in multiple places.
It is the same scene that plays out on Christmas Day morning up and down the country every year.
You know that when the England Football teams wins a game, the same scene is played out in pubs and living rooms everywhere.
MEANING 3: To do something until the end
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To finish, to see through |
Separable? | Yes |
Our third usage of 'play out' combines elements of the first two meanings that we have covered so far and means 'to do something to completion'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This application is typically used for games and things that we can play and it refers to when we continue playing or doing what we are doing until the end. Oftentimes, a decision whether or not to continue playing until the end (play it out) needs to be made. For example, a football team manager may decide to play a game until the end of the 90-minute period or a project manager might decide to continue working on a project until the end rather than cancelling it. In both of these instances, 'play out' can be used to refer to the continuation to the end.
On a grammatical note, this usage is separable and therefore takes a direct object, which can either go between 'play' and 'out' or after them.
Despite the injury, the goalkeeper decided to play out the rest of the match.
The actors played the final scene of the show out with great emotion.
Instead of quitting halfway, we should just play the project out and see where it takes us.
The team had no chance of winning the game, but they still chose to play it out with full effort.
The band played out their last song before leaving the stage.
MEANING 4: To pretend a situation is happening
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To act out, to recreate, to enact, to reenact |
Separable? | Yes |
Do any of you enjoy acting and amateur dramatics? If so, this next usage of 'play out' could be a very useful one for you as it means 'to pretend a situation is happening'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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To give you a bit more clarification on this, when I say "to pretend a situation is happening", what I mean is that you act like the situation is really taking place.
With this application, there are two different scenarios that we can use it in. The first of these is that you are an actor or actress playing a role in a show or a movie. Quite simply, if you play out a scene then you perform it by acting. Alternatively, as an acting professional, it is vital that you prepare and rehearse and this may involve playing out different scenes and scenarios in preparation for this. For this first scenario, I should say here that the phrasal verb 'act out' is more common to use than 'play out' and there is no difference in meaning between the two here.
The actors played out a dramatic argument to rehearse for their upcoming performance.
We decided to play out some scenes from Romeo & Juliet.
The second scenario, which you're more likely to encounter, involves simulating situations in order to train or practise for something. This usage can range across many different areas of life, such as the military playing out specific scenarios to improve and perfect their strategies, office workers playing out telephone calls or business situations as job training and children playing out pretend adventures as part of their games.
Personally, I really like to do role plays with my students where we can play out different scenarios in which they can practice their English in new ways and it is highly effective.
The children played out a pirate adventure in the garden.
In training, the firefighters played out different emergency scenarios to prepare for real-life situations.
During the negotiation exercise, the office workers played out a scenario where one side refused to compromise.
The French teacher asked her students to play out a conversation between a customer and a shopkeeper.
The military played out a possible attack scenario to test their defence strategies.
The kids played out a hospital scene, pretending to be doctors and patients.
The role-playing exercise allowed employees to play out potential conflicts and find solutions.
They played out the scene as if they were in a real courtroom trial.
One other time that you may hear this application in use is when referring to people in therapy who see mental health professionals. As part of their therapy, they may be asked to play out their dreams, imagination or feelings.
MEANING 5: To feed a rope or a cord
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To feed through, to feed, to unwind, to uncoil |
Separable? | Yes |
Our next application of 'play out' is a rarer meaning that is used only in very specific situations and it is 'to feed rope or cord'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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For this meaning, we are solely concerned with long, thin items that can be wound into a coil or wrapped around something (like in this picture). This includes ropes that climbers and abseilers use, garden hoses and electrical wires. When you play out one of these long items, you unwind it to allow more of the item to be used, reducing the amount of it that is wrapped in the coil.
For example, if you are abseiling down the side of a building, someone will need to stand on the roof of the building to play out the rope to enable you to move down towards the ground ( have never done it as I would be too scared).
This is not a particularly common usage and certainly not one that you will need in everyday English unless you are a keen climber or abseiler of course!
The sailor played out the rope slowly as the boat drifted away from the dock.
The rescue team carefully played the cable out while lowering the stretcher down the cliffside.
He played the fishing line out, hoping to catch something big.
As the anchor dropped, they played out the chain to ensure it reached the seabed.
The rock climber played the rope out steadily to keep his partner secure.
The kite flew higher as the child played out more string.
The diver signalled to his partner on the boat to play out more air hose as he descended deeper.
MEANING 6: To use something until there is none left
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To use up, to run out of, to sell out |
Separable? | No |
This sixth and penultimate application of 'play out' is another rare one, which means to use something until there is none of it left.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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We use this application primarily to say that something we have, either within us (like energy or patience) or outside of us (like food or petrol), has become depleted. Commonly, this is used in the passive voice to say that none of something remains or that the resource from which we obtain something stops providing what we need.
For my part, I would be much more inclined to use another phrasal verb such as run out (link here) or use up in this instance but it is always good to be aware of this in case you hear it or read it somewhere.
The miners continued working until the gold was completely played out.
John's luck finally played out, and they lost the last of their savings in the gamble.
The land had been farmed for generations, but eventually, the soil played out and became barren.
After years of overfishing, the once-thriving fishing grounds had played out and no more fish could be caught there.
Robert's energy finally played out, and he collapsed from exhaustion.
The oil well was productive for decades, but it eventually played out, causing the company to go bankrupt.
PLAYED OUT AS AN ADJECTIVE
There is also an adjective that is linked to this sixth application of 'play out' that I want to make you aware of.
If you describe something as "played out", it means that it is old, tired or no longer has the power or energy that it once had.
Typical examples of this could be in reference to a person who is extremely tired and lacking energy, either temporarily or permanently due to old age, to policies and ideas that people consider to be old and cliché and the lack of power of a country to influence others that was previously very important and influential.
Louise's jokes about millennials being lazy are played out; it’s time to move on.
That reality TV show was entertaining at first, but now it’s just played out.
The band’s new album sounds exactly like their last three; their style is getting played out.
MEANING 7: To play the end music of something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To close out |
Separable? | Sometimes |
I've left this seventh application of 'play out' to last as it is a rather appropriate one for ending the post due to its meaning, which is 'to play the end music of something'.
Again, this is a rarer meaning that you will probably only ever come across on television shows and radio broadcasts. If someone plays out a show in this sense, it means that they they play a song at the end of the show, which serves typically as the last part of it. On television shows, the music would be played to accompany the end credits.
Typically, the structure 'to play us out is....' is used by the presenter of the show.
The host thanked the audience, and the theme song played out to close the show.
The live concert played out with a heartfelt ballad as the crowd cheered.
The radio show always plays out with the same iconic jazz tune.
Now, to play us out, please give a round of applause to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'play out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
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THE END
The operation played out as expected.