1. the way a situation develops or ends
Professional
Social
I want to see how this plays/turns out
How something 'plays out' refers to how a situation occurs and develops over time. If you 'play something out' it can mean to complete an activity or see something through to the very end, such as playing a game out to see who the winner is. If something 'plays out' it can also mean to 'run out' or to 'be finished'. How something 'turns out' refers to the outcome or result of something. How something 'turns out' can also mean something that proves to be the case. "She turned out to be right this time." To 'turn out' can also mean to show up for an event or in order to vote in an election. "The turn out for the referendum was 20% higher than normal." These expressions are both phrasal verbs.