1Tactics exhibiting or intended to increase a person's power or influence.
‘the sexual power play of their relationship’
‘For all the intricacies of the spat, it smacks of political one-upmanship, petty power play and a healthy dose of ego juice.’
‘But ordinary people rejected his power play, reclaiming their nation's path through the ballot box.’
‘The 70s power play between political parties and the State institutions again defined the debate and ‘ideology’ related decisions.’
‘I suspect political power play is involved in that decision.’
‘So it is that the drugs issue is secondary to the political power play.’
‘On many levels, it was a sleazy political power play.’
‘I had a relationship after my marriage that really explored power play, and it was the most passionate, powerful, liberating thing I have ever experienced in my life.’
‘My feeling when it comes to any kind of sexual representation that deals with power play is that we have a tendency to cast ourselves in certain roles, for good or bad.’
‘The anti-retrenchment strikes have more to do with political power play than anything else.’
‘That power play drew a record 8,000 written responses from the public, only 10 of which supported it.’
‘Her features became blank in the aristocratic air she had perfected over the years of political power play.’
‘He is clearly interested in exploring sexual relations as an arena of power play.’
‘But her remarkable life, carefully handled, could provide a revealing taste of 14 th-century power play, spiced with a heady dose of intrigue, romance and brutal political violence.’
‘The power play began before Christmas with the setting of the agenda for the convention when a series of 50 questions were devised by the Belgian presidency and finessed by the member countries ambassadors.’
‘All through life, food and eating can become entangled and misused in all sorts of emotional problems and power play, such as bulimia, anorexia, obesity, hunger strikes, etc.’
‘Trapped in the middle of this power play is Bangalore.’
‘He points out that it's almost impossible to take clothing off without there being an aspect of power play.’
‘It's power play, not because he actually feels powerful, but because he wants to feel that way.’
‘The power play of calling or not calling just doesn't exist.’
‘I'd love to know what bureaucratic power play brought that about.’
2Offensive tactics in a team sport involving the concentration of players at a particular point.
2.1Ice Hockey count nounA situation in which a team has a numerical advantage over its opponents while one or more players is serving a penalty, characterized by an emphasis on offensive play.