record player

American  

noun

• record players
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• record players
  plural

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

See Examples For:

record player

His debut piece for Coachella captured a pastel desert with a giant California poppy-turned-Venus flytrap, its long stem ending in a stylus on a record player rooted in a tree stump.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

These included a record player positioned on a table next to the bed for optimal roll-over needle drops and a disorganized assortment of motorcycle magazines and ’50s and ’60s 7” singles scattered across the floor.

From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter spun endlessly on an old record player while Roy worked on her architecture school thesis.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025

She had her own pink record player and a collection of albums.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago