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play sb/sth off against sb/sth

phrasal verb with play
 
 
/pleɪ/ verb

Definition

to encourage one person or group to compete or argue with another, hoping to get some advantage from this situation: Management policy seemed to be to play one department off against another.Competing and contending (non-sporting)Competing in sport
(Definition of play sb/sth off against sb/sth from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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