playing 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.
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