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

“The minute you can get a $99 VCR at Urban Outfitters, as you can with a record player, then the sky’s the limit.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 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

Among the good doctor’s many artifacts are a record player and vinyl LPs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

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

He always says that music sounds better coming from a record player.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks