playoff

playoff — noun

1. an additional game, hole, or round added at the end of a contest when two or mor

1.nounB2
Definition

an additional game, hole, or round added at the end of a contest when two or more sides finish equal on points, used to settle which side actually wins the title.

Example

Marcus and Lina were level after eighteen holes, forcing a sudden-death playoff.

collocation: sudden-death playoff

The two schools finished the league on equal points and face a playoff on Saturday.

pattern: face a playoff

Common collocations
  • sudden-death playoff
  • force a playoff
  • go to a playoff
  • win in a playoff
  • lose the playoff
Synonyms
  • tiebreaker

    more general; can be a single point in tennis, not only a whole extra game

  • decider

    British informal; any deciding match, not necessarily after a tie

  • sudden death

    the format itself — first to score wins; often used inside a playoff

Grammar Patterns

a playoff between X and Y

in a playoff

Usage Note

Subject of 'force / go to / settle by' is usually a tied result. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is a one-off extra contest triggered by a tie, while sense 2 is a scheduled post-season tournament.

Common Mistakes

They won the playoff 3-2 in the regular season.
They won the playoff 3-2 after the regular season ended in a tie.
a playoff happens because scores were level, not during normal scheduled play.

2. in North American leagues, the run of knockout matches held after the regular se

2.nounB1
Definition

in North American leagues, the run of knockout matches held after the regular season ends, in which the top-ranked teams compete to be crowned champion of that year.

Example

The Lakers clinched a spot in the playoffs with a win over Denver on Sunday.

collocation: clinch a spot in the playoffs

If the Bears lose tonight, they will miss the playoffs for a third straight year.

collocation: miss the playoffs

Common collocations
  • make the playoffs
  • miss the playoffs
  • clinch a playoff spot
  • playoff game
  • playoff run
  • playoff tickets
  • advance to the playoffs
Synonyms
  • post-season

    covers the same period; less focused on the games themselves than on the calendar window

  • finals

    narrower — usually only the last round, not the whole knockout run

  • knockout stage

    common in soccer / international tournaments rather than US pro leagues

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

the playoffs

make the playoffs

in the playoffs

Usage Note

Almost always plural with 'the' (the playoffs). Mostly American English; British coverage of NBA / NFL / MLB borrows the word, but UK leagues themselves more often say 'play-offs' (with hyphen) for promotion contests in football. Often used attributively: playoff game, playoff run, playoff tickets.

Common Mistakes

Our team made a playoff this year.
Our team made the playoffs this year.
in this sense it is almost always plural with 'the'.

Word family

  • play off
    phrasal verbB2
  • play
    verbA1
  • play
    nounA2
  • player
    nounA1
  • post-season
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All four refer to championship-deciding games held after a regular schedule, but the lens differs. 'Playoffs' is the everyday US-sports word for the whole knockout bracket — fans say 'we made the playoffs' to mean simply 'we qualified'. 'Post-season' is more neutral and calendar-focused; sports writers use it when discussing the period itself ('a post-season injury'). 'Finals' is narrower — the last round only, not every elimination round; saying 'we reached the finals' is a stronger claim than 'we reached the playoffs'. 'Knockout stage' belongs more to soccer and international tournaments such as the World Cup, where it contrasts with the group stage. So a Yankees fan says 'in the playoffs', a UEFA commentator says 'in the knockout stage', and both might agree their team is 'one win from the finals'.

playoffspost-seasonfinalsknockout stage

Common collocations

Nouns

  • playoff game
  • playoff spot
  • playoff tickets
  • playoff run
  • playoff race
  • playoff hopes
  • playoff berth

Phrases

  • make the playoffs
  • miss the playoffs
  • clinch a playoff spot
  • force a playoff
  • go to a playoff

Prepositions

  • in the playoff(s)
  • to a playoff
  • between (sides)
  • after the playoff(s)

Etymology

Old EnglishModern EnglishAmerican English

Built in late 19th-century American sport from the verb phrase 'play off', meaning to settle an unresolved tie by playing further. The earliest written uses (1890s baseball and golf) describe a single extra contest after two sides finished level. The plural 'playoffs', meaning the whole post-season tournament that decides a league champion, took hold in mid-20th-century American pro sports as leagues grew large enough to need a structured bracket. British English long preferred the hyphenated 'play-off' for similar promotion deciders.