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Glite Dictionary
⚔️ To set in competition 🎭 To react creatively
to play off

to play off

3 6.3
To make one person or group compete with another to gain an advantage
  • phrasal verb
  • /pleɪ ɔf/
translation icon : enfrentar
  • I play them off against each other.
  • play off each other
  • play one off
  • play the two off

Examples

  • Only through enforceable minimum-wage standards can these countries prevent Northern corporations and intermediate suppliers from playing them off against each other.

    Academic text (2002)

  • By playing off British against French interests, the Siamese monarchy managed to keep the nation free.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Countries are being played off against each other for jobs and investment.

    Blog text (1)

  • No longer can they play off one superpower against the other.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Maybe the super-rich are playing us off against each other.

    Blog text (13)

  • The French right and Muslim culturalists in France today both play off one another.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Like President Clinton, he is able to play various factions off against each other and turn factionalism to his advantage.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Yet so far, China has played Moscow off against Central Asian petroleum producers, exploiting competition to get the best deals.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Conversely, tensions between China and the United States might only increase North Korea's intransigence, allowing it to play the two countries off each other.

    Academic text (2011)

  • She skillfully played off the competitors against each other to secure the best deal.

Synonyms

to pit
vsto play off
74 5.3

To put one person or group against another

is focused on causing competition for personal benefit
to drive a wedge
vsto play off
13 7.6

To cause people to argue or become divided on purpose

is about making opposition rather than directly provoking competition
to play one against another
vsto play off
7.6

Make two people or groups compete to get an advantage for yourself

is the same manipulation but described more generally

Antonyms

to unite
∞ 2.1

To join people or things into one group for a shared purpose

to collaborate
96 4.6

To work with other people to reach a shared goal

How Divisive

to stir trouble
  • Informal
5 5.3
to play off
3 6.3

Surface Forms

play off infinitive
played off past
played off past participle
playing off present participle
plays off third person singular

Morphology

play + off

The overall sense ‘use something as material or leverage’ is related to the core meaning of 'play' (use/perform) and a non-literal particle 'off' (against/from), so there is a recognisable compositional link. However, the specific pragmatic sense of exploiting one feature to produce humor or effect is a phrasal-verb usage that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so a B1 learner who knows the words may still need exposure to this sense.

Etymology

The phrasal verb play off comes from the image of someone making two people or teams compete like players in a game. To play one person off another is to put them against each other so you win, so it means 'to make people or groups compete, often to your advantage'.