How to Use play up in a Sentence

play up

verb
  • Want to play up its moody look?
    — Miranda Crowell, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Chris made a third and cleaned the play up.
    — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
  • For years Tyran played up a grade or two.
    — Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Natasha Zinko played up the fades of men’s blue jeans.
    — Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Well, for one thing, the backlash was played up.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2026
  • So that mixed with the way Sean can draw these plays up?
    — Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Still, that’s now four options to play up top.
    — Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Then, play up the theme even more by filling bowls with them too.
    — Alyssa Gautieri, Good Housekeeping, 7 Nov. 2022
  • But perhaps their stuff could play up in a relief role.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Which team will play up its potential?
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Davy made sure to play up the contrast in this Cassie look, too.
    — Hannah Kerns, PEOPLE, 10 May 2026
  • Is forcing players to ‘play up’ good?
    — Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • At the same time, there were many moments when the team didn’t play up to its standards.
    — oregonlive, 18 June 2021
  • Baggy jeans can also make playing up bold pieces a lot more fun.
    — Kristina Rutkowski, Footwear News, 22 Sep. 2025
  • The media loves to play up that kind of vitriol from the far right.
    — Harold Maass, theweek, 15 May 2024
  • Nor did journalists like me who loved the band play up that angle.
    — Simon Reynolds, Pitchfork, 27 Sep. 2023
  • But the rookie has mostly played up to his standard since.
    — Sam Warren, Houston Chronicle, 2 Jan. 2026
  • So, my grandkids thought that was pretty funny to play up those names.
    — Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Play with ring layering to play up your heart-nail designs.
    — Paola Zamarripa, Glamour, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Mega Millions can be played up to eight draws (four weeks) in advance.
    — Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Rickard Rakell made a wonderful play on the forecheck to set the play up.
    — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2026
  • What’s the harm in asking, or playing up the theatrics?
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2026
  • But both have been playing up to their usual standards through the first two rounds.
    — Carol Schram, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
  • Is your team playing up to its potential?
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 12 May 2026
  • Or, let air-dry with a scrunch of mousse that plays up your hair’s natural texture.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 9 June 2026
  • This blunt cut by stylist Shaylee Blatz plays up thickness but doesn't look weighed down.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
  • The imports played up to their ability.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 4 June 2026
  • However, Betts has not played up to his standards this year.
    — Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Nothing plays up dark mocha or cool raven hair like warm cinnamon balayage.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 13 June 2026
  • And the government played up just how closely the two compete.
    — Evan Clark, WWD, 9 Sep. 2024

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

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