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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  

[pley-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  

[pley-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

Etymology

Origin of player

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

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

A scholarship to Sedbergh School - "posh", in Brook's words - was where he honed his game, with 6.20am nets run by former Kent player Martin Speight.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Cypress graduated CIF-SS Division 3 player of the year Isabella Faro.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

And it was with the Yankees that he made the record book, in a way no player would ever want.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

When Báez returned from his hiatus, he was an entirely different player.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Dasch had even given Traynor the nickname "Pie," a reference to baseball player Harold Joseph "Pie" Traynor of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Fernandes recorded a Premier League record 21 assists last season and is favourite to be crowned PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26 in Manchester next week.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Player salaries are capped, but ownership’s resources matter much in terms of creating a competitive infrastructure of coaches, basketball operations, medical and scouting staffs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

James, the NBA all-time scoring leader and a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, has won four titles in a 23-year career, most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

It was the third major individual accolade of his career, having won the Ballon d'Or in 2023 and then Uefa Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament after Spain's final triumph against England two years ago.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

I hit the Player One button again and began my third game.

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

It is part of a club record spending spree by the north London club, who have signed six players while targeting two further attacking additions.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Chelsea FC Women named a London clinic as its official fertility partner, providing support for players on the team as part of the deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Tying that experience to the new “Smugglers Gambit” game in “Fortnite” also can help entice players to become new visitors to the company’s theme parks, as well as keep fans engaged.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

He will have a rebuild job to do, but there's no reason to believe that Scotland cannot build on Clarke's legacy with a good crop of younger players.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Did he wish—dream—that one day he’d be up on a similar stage playing against the world’s finest players?

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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