Player Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms player 1 American [pley-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that plays.

2. a person who takes part or is skilled in some game or sport.

3. a person who plays parts on the stage; an actor.

4. a performer on a musical instrument.

5. Informal. a participant, as in a conference or business deal.

6. a machine or piece of software that reproduces sound or images: a videodisc player;

   a record player;

   a videodisc player;

   a digital media player.

7. a gambler.

8. Slang. a person engaged in illicit or illegal activity, especially a pimp.

9. a mechanical device by which a musical instrument, as a player piano, is played automatically.

Player 2 American [pley-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

1. Gary, born 1935, South African golfer.

player 1 British / ˈpleɪə /

noun

1. a person who participates in or is skilled at some game or sport

2. a person who plays a game or sport professionally

3. a person who plays a musical instrument

4. an actor

5. informal a participant, esp a powerful one, in a particular field of activity

   a leading city player

6. See record player

7. the playing mechanism in a Pianola

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Player 2 British / ˈpleɪə /

noun

1. Gary (ˈɡærɪ). born 1935, South African golfer: winner of nine major championships (1959–78), including the British Open (1959, 1968, 1974)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• counterplayer noun
• nonplayer noun
• self-player noun
• superplayer noun

Etymology

Origin of player

before 1000; Middle English pleyer, Old English plegere. See play, -er 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What they received in return was a mountain of players, draft capital, and financial flexibility.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We knew they had good players in the line-up. Early wickets were key and it put us on the front foot."

From Barron's

Davison said the players will learn and move forward when they next play Nepal in Mumbai on Thursday.

From Barron's

If not many high-value briefcases were revealed then that was good for the player.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It's a good group of players and if you are not seeing an improvement there is an option for change. That might be the best thing for Gregor and for Scotland."

From BBC

Related Words

• athlete
• competitor
• member
• opponent
• participant
• pro
• professional
• rookie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.