Jump to:

• 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

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

---

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)

---

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

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

Malakye Matsumoto, the Knights’ talented baseball player, had one final on Friday before taking on Corona in a Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal playoff game.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

If you go there and mention a player in the same light then you'd better have credibility and an unarguable case.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

Agency for International Development, for decades a major player in Africa, weeks after starting his second term in the White House.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

Meckler was also the first player to hit a homer in their Angels debut since Randal Grichuk did in 2023 against the Braves.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

Bronstein looked like what one might picture a chess player to look like.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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