record player

American  

noun

1. phonograph.

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record player British  

noun

1. a device for reproducing the sounds stored on a record, consisting of a turntable, usually electrically driven, that rotates the record at a fixed speed of 33, 45, or (esp formerly) 78 revolutions a minute. A stylus vibrates in accordance with undulations in the groove in the record: these vibrations are converted into electric currents, which, after amplification, are recreated in the form of sound by one or more loudspeakers See also monophonic quadraphonics stereophonic

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Etymology

Origin of record player

First recorded in 1930–35

Compare meaning

How does record-player compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• phonograph vs. record player

Example Sentences

I used to put it on my little record player in my bedroom, and it seemed to be the kind of thing that I needed to get through the day.

From Los Angeles Times

When radio—then record players, then TV, then MTV, then streaming services—emerged, tallies were taken differently, and success was measured accordingly.

From The Wall Street Journal

He powers his record player and the modest lighting in his tiny underground bunker using a hand-cranked generator.

From Salon

Among the good doctor’s many artifacts are a record player and vinyl LPs.

From The Wall Street Journal

The record was one of the first she’d ever bought, when at last Clara and she had moved into the Grand Dame and got a record player of their own.

From Literature