play off phrasal verb ( see also ↑ play )
1 . British English if people or teams play off, they play the last game in a sports competition, in order to decide who is the winner:
The top two teams will play off at Twickenham for the county title.
2 . play off somebody/something American English to deliberately use a fact, action, idea etc in order to make what you are doing better or to get an advantage:
The two musicians played off each other in a piece of inspired improvisation.