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• player
  player

  noun

  a person or thing that plays.
• Player
  Player

  noun

  Gary, born 1935, South African golfer.

player

¹ American  

[play-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

• players
  plural

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  

[play-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

Derived Forms

• counterplayer
  noun
• nonplayer
  noun
• self-player
  noun
• superplayer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• players
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of player

before 1000; Middle English pleyer, Old English plegere. See play, -er ¹

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Explanation

If you like to play anything at all, you’re a player. If you take part in a game or sport, you're a player. If you're a big flirt, you’re a player. Like the kazoo? You’re a kazoo player. Play on! Some players play cards or tennis, and others play roles in theater productions. You could also call a musician a player, like a piano player or a flute player. Vital or influential people (or groups) are sometimes described this way too: "The president called a meeting of all the biggest political players." And finally, there are inanimate players, like music or radio players, or an MP3 player.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

player Player players

Yes, let them try to scrub the memory of Leonard, the intensely skilled and private player who demanded so much of the Clippers when he signed with them as a free agent in 2019.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

The then Bath player scored three tries during England's historic 2003 World Cup campaign, helping secure a 20-17 victory over Australia in the final when he came on as a second-half substitute.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Several fans Wednesday also said they would appreciate improved transparency, including in terms of player injury and availability news.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

"I think all the high-end stuff that we saw from him which made him a player that Arsenal were going to go and target, that's the icing on the cake," said Upson.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Even their star player, Jason, had to sit out a game once.

From "The Missing Mitt (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #2)" by Franklin W. Dixon

On the other side of the ball, they had five Defensive Player of the Year awards between trade acquisition Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

It is only seven weeks since Bruno Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoke of his pride at being named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Appeared in the October 8, 2026, print edition as 'Crypto Player Ripple Breaks Into Finance'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

GB's Emily Kemp was the Most Valuable Player at the 2025 Euros and was invited to TMRW's first 'talent qualifier'

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Mine began, “Dear Coach . His began, “Dear Player .

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

In its own statement, BioWare, which was working on a new Mass Effect game, thanked players for "being the most important part of the story" during its 31-year history.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

“All this stuff that’s going on,” Lue said, “you can’t take that out on our players … that’s not their fault, you know?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

But it could encourage some conservative players, such as central-bank reserve managers, to stop buying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

However, the UK-based players in McDermott's squad were hardly helped by a lengthy trip to their Perth base, taking almost 48 hours.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Korla theater had come into style in the nearby capital of Turfan, and the resulting income had brought other arts—Sogdian inlay, Chinese zither players, Kuchean dancers.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

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