play out

Verb

play out (third-person singular simple present plays out, present participle playing out, simple past and past participle played out)

1. (transitive) To play (a game etc.) to its conclusion.
   • Newcastle and Blackburn played out a goalless draw in a game that the Magpies dominated at Ewood Park.2011 February 12, Nabil Hassan, “Blackburn 0 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC
2. (transitive) To play music to accompany the end of, or as a final segment in (a programme, broadcast etc.).
   • And now, to play us out, please welcome Tom Waits.
3. (intransitive) To occur or develop in a certain manner.
   • Let's keep our heads down for a little while and see how things play out.
   • My date played out a little differently than I imagined.
4. (transitive, perhaps influenced by or confused with 'pay out') To feed (rope, cord, etc.) so as to allow more length or slackness.
   • I sat at the top of the cliff and played out the rope as she descended.
5. (Europe, intransitive, transitive) To compete in a play-out; to compete against (an opponent) in a play-out.
6. To die.
   • "I doubt if you could stand the trip," the major said coolly. "You might play out." Mitchell forgot that he was a petitioner. "Play out?" he shouted. "I rode ninety miles and crawled ten with a broken leg one time. I didn't play out!"1952, Dorothy M. Johnson, The Unbeliever; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 30