Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To present (a dramatic role, for example) in an exaggerated manner.
- v. To emphasize or stress unduly.
- v. To overestimate the strength of (one's holding or position) with resulting defeat: overplayed his hand and lost the game.
- v. Sports To hit (a golf ball) beyond the green.
- v. To overdo a role or an effect.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In any duplicate card-game, especially bridge and whist, the play of a hand which has already been played at another table and by other players; in memory duplicate, the play of a hand by north and south which was originally held and played by east and west.
Wiktionary
- v. intransitive and (transitive) To overdo or overact one's effect or role.
- v. transitive To present something in a manner more dramatic than necessary.
- v. transitive To overestimate one's strength in a game or event, which ultimately may end in a defeat.
- v. transitive, golf To accidentally hit (one's golf ball) beyond "the green".
WordNet 3.0
- v. exaggerate one's acting
Etymologies
- From over + play. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“I'm sorry, how exactly did Sen. Obama "overplay" Gov.”
“Or the loser would become a winner and overplay his hand until he's a complete cad, before reconnecting with his ex-, which turns him back into his former sweet self.”
The Huffington Post: Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love
“So it's tempting for everyone — from researchers who want to further their careers to journalists looking for a scoop — to overplay preliminary results.”
“It's OK sometimes to overplay or overwork, but you have to recognize what you've done," Edmunds says.”
Detailed schedule may help Kathy Standage fit in life issues
“I think we need to be careful not to overplay the Cali vid”
*How* much trouble is ACORN in right now? - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState
“By and large, the actors terribly overplay these readings, and the results come off like pretentious acting class exercises (I kept expecting James Lipton to come in and congratulate them for their “beautiful” performances).”
“I don't want to overplay these new American Service Center Mercedes ads, starring Ryan Zimmerman (and, in one case, Bruce Boudreau).”
“I don't want to overplay these new American Service Center Mercedes ads, starring Bruce Boudreau (and, in one case, Ryan Zimmerman).”
“Ministers would therefore be extremely unwise to overplay their hand.”
The Guardian: Public sector pensions: after the strike, the settlement | Editorial
“In fact, one could easily imagine a grassroots Catholic backlash against Gingrich were he to overplay his connections with the American bishops, or worse, to Rome and the Pope.”
The Huffington Post: Stewart J. Lawrence: Could Newt Gingrich Win the "Catholic" Vote?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘overplay’.
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It's Over: A Beginning
Terms that start with the string over-, beginning with overanxious.
Your entries are welcome.
overanxious, overachiever, oversimplified, overdone, overaccentuate, overact, overadjustment, overage, overaggressive, overalert, overalls, overambitious and 138 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for overplay.
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