# playoff

Pronunciation: US say "PLAY-awf" /ˈpleɪˌɔf/; UK say "PLAY-of" /ˈpleɪɒf/

## Noun

1. A short series of games played to decide a league's champion. *(US)*
   - Simple: A short set of games played to decide which team wins the league.
   - _The Bulls were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs._
   - _Only the top eight teams in each conference earn a playoff spot._
2. A deciding game at the end of a series, played when a tie must be broken.
   - Simple: One last game played to decide the winner when two sides are tied.
   - _Tied for first after 162 games, the two clubs met in a one-game playoff to decide the division._
   - _Their six-game match ended three games each, and the champion kept her title by winning the playoff._
3. A short series of games held to decide which team takes the last promotion place in a higher league. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A short set of games to decide the last team that moves up to a higher league.
   - _The side scraped into the playoffs on the last day of the season, chasing a place in the top flight._
   - _A playoff win at the end of May would see them promoted alongside the top two clubs._
4. A short piece of background music played during a scene change in a stage musical, usually repeating a song from the scene just ended.
   - Simple: A short bit of music played between scenes in a musical, usually a tune from the last scene.
   - _As the lights dimmed on the kitchen scene, the orchestra slipped into a playoff of the duet the couple had just sung._
   - _The music director cut eight bars from the playoff so the scene change would not drag._

## Origin

Formed from the verb phrase play off; it can also be read as play + -off.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/playoff (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).