playoff

playoff — noun

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

1.名詞B2
釋義

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.

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

文法句型

a playoff between X and Y

in a playoff

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.名詞B1
釋義

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.

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞

文法句型

the playoffs

make the playoffs

in the playoffs

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

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