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

But however perfect the name, it has nothing to do with some genius of a marketer marrying the then-new rock-’n’-roll craze with the old Victrola record player brand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026

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

It was outfitted with a couch, coffee table, piano and record player.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2025

Her room with the sheets tacked up for curtains also had a built-in desk, a chest of drawers, and a record player given to her by her grandparents.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel