outplay

O1U1T1P3L1A1Y4
/aʊtˈpleɪ/

verb

To excel or defeat in a game; to play better than.

“We were outplayed at tennis, but we outplayed them at football.”

OriginEnglish play ← Middle English ut- ← Old English ūt- →
RareScrabble 12
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Meanings

verboutplay (third-person singular simple present outplays, present participle outplaying, simple past and past participle outplayed)

present singular third person outplays · participle present outplaying · participle past outplayed · past outplayed

  1. transitiveTo excel or defeat in a game; to play better than.

    We were outplayed at tennis, but we outplayed them at football.

    1 more example

    When Littlefinger really starts to bare his teeth, talking about a game he plays where he assumes the worst of people’s intentions, I started to hope the producers had outplayed us one last time, and that he was aware they were trying to play him.

    2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úd
  2. Proto-Germanic*ūt
  3. Proto-Germanic*ūt-
  4. Old Englishūt-
  5. Middle Englishut-
  6. Englishout-
  7. Englishplay
  8. Englishoutplay

From out- + play.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with outplay

amaymedayrewaytodaykjlasayplayzpayawaydisplaystaybayoksurveyleDJraylingerie
All rhymes →

Anagrams

playout
Cite this entry
APA

outplay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outplay

MLA

“outplay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outplay. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “outplay,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outplay.

Source: outplay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.