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.

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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

• 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

Example Sentences

The players fondly recalled JOP’s rigor in the studio; one night he stayed up until 4 a.m. with the trio to help configure the beats on their latest record, “Mija No Te Asustes.”

From Los Angeles Times

Tottenham fans have expressed their frustration towards manager Thomas Frank and the players in recent weeks following a poor run of results.

From BBC

The ATP on Thursday announced a slight compromise with disgruntled players by reducing the number of obligatory tournaments they must play each year in an ever more packed schedule.

From Barron's

"In this context, the player has been invited to Istanbul to advance the transfer negotiations and undergo medical examinations," they added with a photo of Guendouzi on an aeroplane.

From Barron's

"I had no plans on playing football. I was a soccer player through and through," Little tells BBC Sport.

From BBC

Related Words

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