record player

American  

noun

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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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

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

The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter spun endlessly on an old record player while Roy worked on her architecture school thesis.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 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

Dad kept imitating the guy who sold him the record player.

From "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis