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Glite Dictionary
out of play

out of play

3 3.3
Not part of the game, for example when the ball or a player leaves the playing area
  • idiom
translation icon : fuera de juego
  • The ball went out of play after it hit the opposing team's goal post and bounced away.
  • ball out of play
  • taken out of play
  • keep the ball out of play

So let's take that one out of play altogether.

Examples

  • After the injury, the player was out of play for the rest of the match.

  • Derrick Rose worked out for an hour at the Berto Center on Tuesday, and his availability for Thursday night's game against the Celtics at the United Center has "not been taken out of play," according to Bulls general manager Gar Forman.

    Blog text (10)

  • Foul ball coming back and out of play.

    Bad Lieutenant (1992)

  • American football is a game that seeks to keep the ball out of play while it is the player that gets "played."

    Academic text (1994)

  • We are forced to take Michaels and MacElroy out of play, no matter what.

    Blades of Glory (2007)

  • (The POP gumball is now out of play.)

    Blog text (22)

  • I'm out of play.

    Bombshell (2016)

  • Tiffert compounded a poor showing by scything a great cross wildly out of play.

    Blog text (21)

  • Immediately afterwards, Graham Dorrans almost put gloss on the scoreline after collecting an excellent cross on the breakaway from Shane Long, but his chest control let him down and the ball ran out of play.

    Blog text (7)

  • When in the 1920s Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indians charged into the heartland of WASP football on the East Coast, they not only mauled, fair and square, every team they played, but also managed to treat their victims to the final humiliating touch of turning the game into a joke: they quite literally put both the ball and the game out of play, simply by hiding the ball under their jerseys.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

out of the game
vsout of play
49 5.2

Not taking part in an activity or competition

is specifically a sports state tied to player position or stoppage
out-of-bounds
vsout of play
18 3.5

Outside the allowed area or not allowed by the rules

is the sports state when action stops or ball or player is outside

Antonyms

active
8 5.6

A person who currently takes part in a group or organization

Surface Forms

out of play positive

Morphology

out + of + play

The meaning 'not in a position to be played or to participate' is directly and compositionally derived from 'out' (outside/not participating) + 'of' (linking) + 'play' (the state/activity), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE. The 'out of X' pattern is a common, transparent locative/participation construction in English (and similar in many languages), especially in sports contexts, making the phrase predictable.

Etymology

Out of play comes from sports: when the ball or a player goes out of the playing area, they are no longer in play and the action must stop. That's why it means 'not able to take part' or 'not in a position to be played'.