I. | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ verb
Etymology: over (I) + play, v.
transitive verb
1.
a. : to exaggerate (as a part in a play or an artistic effect)
overplay a comic role
overplayed every crescendo
b. : to exaggerate the importance or value of : give undue emphasis or attention to : overstress
overplay those features of human attention that are peripheral — Psychological Review
tends to overplay the intellectual achievement — Times Literary Supplement
the most overplayed newspaper story of 1954 — Time
the present text overplays its points of strength — A.R.Turquette
c. : overdo
a theatrical cliché that's overplayed — Ethel Merman
2. : to rely too much upon the strength of : seek to gain too much advantage from — usually used in the phrase overplay one's hand
overplaying their hands and tending to be greedy — Sunday Independent (Dublin)
3. : to strike a golf ball so that it is driven beyond (a putting green)
intransitive verb
: to exaggerate a part or effect
her tendency to overplay — R.A.Hague
II. ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: in sense 1, from over + play, n. (after the verb phrase play over ); in sense 2, from overplay (I)
1. : a replay of a hand in duplicate whist
2. : exaggerated or undue emphasis or treatment : overstress
overplay of highly sensational stories — F.L.Mott