player piano

American  

noun

1. a piano that can play automatically when the keys are actuated electronically or by a pneumatic device controlled by a piano roll.

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player piano British  

noun

1. a mechanical piano; Pianola

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Etymology

Origin of player piano

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

The phonograph and the player piano together brought technological musical reproduction into the home in the early 1900s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

Any piece for so many pianos is bound to call to mind Conlon Nancarrow, an American composer who wrote vastly complex music for the player piano.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

Glass does appear briefly, in the form of a Steinway Spirio piano — an instrument that can record sound and touch then reproduce it, like an advanced player piano.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023

A framed photo of Peter Pan soaring across Neverland stands high above his wooden player piano.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2023

Farther in, a player piano was playing something that was intended to have been Ravel’s “Bolero.”

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman