record player

American  

noun

• record players
  plural

1. phonograph.

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record player British  

noun

1. a device for reproducing the sounds stored on a record, consisting of a turntable, usually electrically driven, that rotates the record at a fixed speed of 33, 45, or (esp formerly) 78 revolutions a minute. A stylus vibrates in accordance with undulations in the groove in the record: these vibrations are converted into electric currents, which, after amplification, are recreated in the form of sound by one or more loudspeakers See also monophonic quadraphonics stereophonic

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• record players
  plural

Etymology

Origin of record player

First recorded in 1930–35

Compare meaning

How does record-player compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• phonograph vs. record player

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

record player

He powers his record player and the modest lighting in his tiny underground bunker using a hand-cranked generator.

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026

In 2023, Luminate found that only 50% of consumers who paid for vinyl over the previous 12 months actually had a record player.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025

Their distinctive circling inspired a T-shirt design with a phalarope atop a vinyl record player and the words “Mono Lake, you spin me round!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025

To explore these tiny realms, scientists turn to a scanning tunnelling microscope, which operates much like a record player.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2024

I take the square thing from her and finally realize that it’s a battery-powered record player.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green