player
[pley-er]
- a person or thing that plays.
- a person who takes part or is skilled in some game or sport.
- a person who plays parts on the stage; an actor.
- a performer on a musical instrument.
- Informal. a participant, as in a conference or business deal.
- a machine or piece of software that reproduces sound or images: a record player; a videodisc player; a digital media player.
- a gambler.
- Slang. a person engaged in illicit or illegal activity, especially a pimp.
- a mechanical device by which a musical instrument, as a player piano, is played automatically.
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Origin of player
Player
[pley-er]
- Gary,born 1935, South African golfer.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
competitorathleteparticipantmemberrookieprofessionalproopponentstaractorperformermusicianartistcontestantamateursweatchampjockthespianimpersonatorExamples from the Web for player
Contemporary Examples
By setting no goals, the player must find their own purpose.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern ArtAlec Kubas-Meyer
January 2, 2015
And that gets to the heart of what makes the game so incredible: By staying silent, it turns the player into the game master.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern ArtAlec Kubas-Meyer
January 2, 2015
The player starts out with a fleet of three or four ships (depending on the machine), which he operates one at a time.
In my 12 seasons as an NFL player, no one ever accused me of not being black enough.
When NFL player Ray Rice beats his wife, the media is outraged and demands action.
Historical Examples
The poet, the player, and all but the dancing-master and doctor, went on this errand.
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2Henry Fielding
It is not for the player, himself, to become a piece upon the board.
The Historical Nights' EntertainmentRafael Sabatini
I marvel at the invention of the composer and the skill of the player, but there I cease.
The Fifth StringJohn Philip Sousa
"I've often thought you might have been a player," said she contemptuously.
The Lion's SkinRafael Sabatini
The player—who may be left on the ground long after all games have been played out.
Audrey CravenMay Sinclair
player
- a person who participates in or is skilled at some game or sport
- a person who plays a game or sport professionally
- a person who plays a musical instrument
- an actor
- informal a participant, esp a powerful one, in a particular field of activitya leading city player
- See record player
- the playing mechanism in a Pianola
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Player
- 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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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for player
n.
Old English plegere, agent noun from play (v.). Stage sense is from mid-15c. As a pimp's word for himself (also playa), attested from 1974. Player-piano attested from 1901.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper