play (one's) heart out

play (one's) heart out

To exhibit maximum effort and enthusiasm while playing something, such as a sport, game, or instrument. Even though I played my heart out and scored two goals, we still lost the playoff game. You can tell the trumpet player is really feeling it—he's playing his heart out up there.

See also: heart, out, play

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.