play dead

idiom

: to lie on one's back and pretend to be dead
She taught her dog to play dead.

Examples of play dead in a Sentence

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The Alaskan native continued to play dead when a mugshot was taken. Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2025 The referees didn’t originally rule it a recovery, blowing the play dead. Paul Dehner Jr., The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024 Officials blew the play dead as incomplete, which negated Washington’s touchdown return. Pat Leonard, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2024 Referees whistle play dead after a goalie catches or covers a puck shot in their direction. Kyle Stokes, Axios, 8 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for play dead

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“Play dead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20dead. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

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