- ˌplay sth ˈup
- phrasal verb
to try to persuade people to believe that something is more important than it isThe newspapers have really played up the government's poor election results.[/ex]
Dictionary for writing and speaking English. 2014.
ˌplay sth ˈup
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play sth up — UK US play sth up Phrasal Verb with play({{}}/pleɪ/ verb ► to emphasize something or try to make people believe it is important: »The ad campaign played up the refreshing qualities of bottled water, rather than claiming any medicinal value … Financial and business terms
play sth back — UK US play sth back Phrasal Verb with play({{}}/pleɪ/ verb ► to watch or listen to something that you have recorded previously, using a DVD player, tape recorder, etc.: »Latest versions of the software let you record and play back TV shows in… … Financial and business terms
play sth down — UK US play sth down Phrasal Verb with play({{}}/pleɪ/ verb ► to say that something is not important, especially because you do not want it to be known publicly: »Insiders are playing the matter down, stressing the investigation is industry wide… … Financial and business terms
ˌplay sth ˈback — phrasal verb to play a message or video that has been recorded in order to listen to or watch it … Dictionary for writing and speaking English
ˌplay sth ˈdown — phrasal verb to try to make a problem or difficult situation seem less important than it is At first the government played down the threat to public health.[/ex] … Dictionary for writing and speaking English
play something back (to somebody) — ˌplay sthˈback (to sb) derived to play music, film, etc. that has been recorded on a tape, video, etc • Play that last section back to me again. related noun ↑playback Main entry: ↑playderived … Useful english dictionary
play (something) by ear — play (sth) by ˈear idiom to play music by remembering how it sounds rather than by reading it Main entry: ↑earidiom … Useful english dictionary
play — play1 W1S1 [pleı] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(children)¦ 2¦(sports/games)¦ 3¦(music)¦ 4¦(radio/cd etc)¦ 5¦(theatre/film)¦ 6 play a part/role 7 play ball 8¦(pretend)¦ 9¦(behave)¦ 10 play games … Dictionary of contemporary English
play — 1 /pleI/ verb 1 CHILDREN (I, T) when children play, they do things that they enjoy, often together or with toys: The children ran off to play on the beach. | play sth: The boys were playing soldiers. | I don t want to play that game! (+ with):… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
play — ▪ I. play play 1 [pleɪ] verb [transitive] 1. play the market( s) FINANCE if you play the market, you buy and sell shares on the stockmarket, especially to make a quick profit rather than as an investment for the future: • Unless you can afford to … Financial and business terms
