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

The player piano and the phonograph not only introduced recorded music to a mass audience, they also prepared the way for machines to become integrated into musical creation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

The rotating stage is dominated by a wooden swing, a player piano and, most memorably, a gigantic fish: two halves of a trout, suspended high above the actors.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2023

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

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2023

He invented, for example, a player organ: an organ which, like a player piano, automatically played music according to the information conveyed by pins on a turning drum.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton