turntable
Americannoun
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turntables
plural
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the rotating disk that spins the record on a phonograph.
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Railroads. a rotating, track-bearing platform pivoted in the center, used for turning locomotives and cars around.
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a rotating stand used in sculpture, metalwork, and ceramics.
noun
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the circular horizontal platform that rotates a gramophone record while it is being played
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a flat circular platform that can be rotated about its centre, used for turning locomotives and cars
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the revolvable platform on a microscope on which specimens are examined
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of turntable
Explanation
A turntable is an old-fashioned device for listening to music — it's the part of a record player that revolves, turning the record as a needle rests on it. You can use the word turntable interchangeably with "record player" or "phonograph." If you want to listen to LPs, those large, flat discs that store sound recordings in their grooves, you're going to need a turntable. This meaning has been around since the early 20th century. Before that, a turntable was a round, revolving platform used in train yards for turning a railroad car.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A pair of deep seats covered in nubby upholstery sit close to this sacred space’s altar — a vinyl-stacked media console holding a vintage receiver and turntable, flanked by two ATC SCM50 loudspeakers.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026
The strategy allowed disco DJs to use the longer album versions, erasing the possibility that a turntable needle would drift into the next track.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Inside, he’s in the company of his drum machine, a turntable, synthesizers and his vinyl collection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
Stereos used to have an amplifier and then a turntable and then speakers and all of these different things.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025
Once Cleopatra’s Needle was in the middle of the turntable, Mr. Gorringe gave the workers the order to turn it.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
Pop Music * Desert festival gets high marks for its eclectic lineup, although the heat, darkness and some skip-happy turntables provide a few sour notes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
A global hit, the single made the UK Top 10 and even got the musicians onto Top of the Pops – marking the first time a DJ with turntables appeared on the BBC chart show.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
He got behind the turntables for a mini-set that eulogised his former collaborator Amy Winehouse -- who died in 2011 -- and featured US rapper Ghostface Killah and Dua Lipa.
From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026
Early hip-hop DJs embraced the LP for its extended, well-produced tracks that they sampled on turntables for breakdancers and rappers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
He had two mismatched turntables plus a rickety old reel-to-reel tape player and shelves packed with records he’d collected over many years.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
