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• player
  player

  noun

  a person or thing that plays.
• Player
  Player

  noun

  Gary, born 1935, South African golfer.

player

¹ American  

[play-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

• players
  plural

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.

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Player ² American  

[play-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

1. Gary, born 1935, South African golfer.

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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

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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)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• players
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of player

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

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Explanation

If you like to play anything at all, you’re a player. If you take part in a game or sport, you're a player. If you're a big flirt, you’re a player. Like the kazoo? You’re a kazoo player. Play on! Some players play cards or tennis, and others play roles in theater productions. You could also call a musician a player, like a piano player or a flute player. Vital or influential people (or groups) are sometimes described this way too: "The president called a meeting of all the biggest political players." And finally, there are inanimate players, like music or radio players, or an MP3 player.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

player Player players

I'm a player that no-one can criticise, I'm always available, I always give my best.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Several fans Wednesday also said they would appreciate improved transparency, including in terms of player injury and availability news.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Yes, let them try to scrub the memory of Leonard, the intensely skilled and private player who demanded so much of the Clippers when he signed with them as a free agent in 2019.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Mitch Stein discusses how his firm, Arena Private Wealth, is a private- and capital-markets player in addition to being a wealth manager.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

I halt too slowly and crash into the back of Great Britain’s second-greatest chess player.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Appeared in the October 8, 2026, print edition as 'Crypto Player Ripple Breaks Into Finance'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

A Rams defense missing defensive linemen Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald—and their five combined Defensive Player of the Year awards—had somehow given the team a prayer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

At the final game of the 6U tournament near Los Angeles, Andrea Solis fought back tears as her 6-year-old collected an award for Most Valuable Player.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

In just over a minute, last season's Most Valuable Player Matt Stafford led the Rams down the field, culminating in a 48-yard touchdown for receiver Konata Mumpfield to regain the lead.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Player One is mounted on an ostrich, while Player Two is mounted on a stork.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Four of the starting XI on Tuesday signed on deadline day and 66% of the players joined after the season started.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Not the CEOs behind the 2008 financial crisis, not the key players in the Enron scandal, not WorldCom Chief Executive Bernie Ebbers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

But it could encourage some conservative players, such as central-bank reserve managers, to stop buying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

The players were given Thursday off, and United are still to confirm arrangements for Friday's planned news conference to preview the Bournemouth match.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

In an attempt to find other boys who might want to play with Bobby, Regina wrote to the chess editor of the Brooklyn Eagle to see if he knew of any seven-year-old players.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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