"play catch-up" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "plays catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "playing catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "play catch-up (third-person singular simple present plays catch-up, present participle playing catch-up, simple past and past participle played catch-up)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Games",
          "orig": "en:Games",
          "parents": [
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Sports",
          "orig": "en:Sports",
          "parents": [
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2020 January 2, Graeme Pickering, “Fuelling the changes on Teesside rails”, in Rail, page 59",
          "text": "\"We're now having to play catch-up,\" says the Mayor. \"What are we now, five years on from the original announcement? It's probably going to take us another six months to present a business case to government to allow us to make the platform improvements and make sure the knock-on effects to the wider network are taken into account because that has to be costed as well.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a losing scenario, to take risks in an attempt to regain the lead."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_catch-up-en-verb-M1INv7cj",
      "links": [
        [
          "sports",
          "sports"
        ],
        [
          "games",
          "game#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "losing",
          "losing"
        ],
        [
          "scenario",
          "scenario"
        ],
        [
          "regain",
          "regain"
        ],
        [
          "lead",
          "lead"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(also sports, games) In a losing scenario, to take risks in an attempt to regain the lead."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "play the percentages"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "also"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "play catch-up"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "plays catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "playing catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played catch-up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "play catch-up (third-person singular simple present plays catch-up, present participle playing catch-up, simple past and past participle played catch-up)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "play the percentages"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "en:Games",
        "en:Sports"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2020 January 2, Graeme Pickering, “Fuelling the changes on Teesside rails”, in Rail, page 59",
          "text": "\"We're now having to play catch-up,\" says the Mayor. \"What are we now, five years on from the original announcement? It's probably going to take us another six months to present a business case to government to allow us to make the platform improvements and make sure the knock-on effects to the wider network are taken into account because that has to be costed as well.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a losing scenario, to take risks in an attempt to regain the lead."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "sports",
          "sports"
        ],
        [
          "games",
          "game#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "losing",
          "losing"
        ],
        [
          "scenario",
          "scenario"
        ],
        [
          "regain",
          "regain"
        ],
        [
          "lead",
          "lead"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(also sports, games) In a losing scenario, to take risks in an attempt to regain the lead."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "also"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "games",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "play catch-up"
}