Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

playoff

/plˈeɪˌɔf/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.13 in modern English

Syllables: play-off
IPA: /plˈeɪˌɔf/

18

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A final game in a series needed to break a tie.

noun

A short series of games to select a league champion.

Canadian usage; American usage

noun

A short series of games to select the last team to be promoted (to elevate to a higher league).

British usage

noun

A short piece of underscore played during a scene transition in a stage musical, usually reprising a song from the preceding scene.

Etymology

Deverbal from play off; by surface analysis, play + -off.

Usage

Canadian usage
American usage
British usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Sports.

Inflected Forms

playoffs (plural) play-off (alternative)

Derived Forms

nonplayoff preplayoff

Phrases

playoff beard Shaughnessy playoff play off

Frequently Paired Words

play off

Rhymes With

payoff layoff

Questions

How do you pronounce playoff?: The recorded pronunciation is /plˈeɪˌɔf/.
What does playoff mean?: A final game in a series needed to break a tie.
Where does playoff come from?: Deverbal from play off; by surface analysis, play + -off.

How to pronounce playoff

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “playoff”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/plˈeɪˌɔf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “playoff”.
Repeat and practice — Say “playoff” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.