- a person who participates in or is skilled at some game or sport
- a person who plays a game or sport professionally
- a person who plays a musical instrument
- an actor
- informal a participant, esp a powerful one, in a particular field of activity: a leading city player
- informal someone who engages in casual and indiscriminate sexual relationships
- See record player
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
play•er /ˈpleɪɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a person or thing that plays.
- one who takes part in some game or sport.
- one who plays parts on the stage;
actor. - a performer on a musical instrument:a horn player.
- Sound Reproductiona machine that reproduces sound or video images:a videodisc player.
- Informal Termsa participant, as in a business deal;
esp., one in a position to exercise power:Call in the players and let's make a deal.
play•er
(plā′ər),USA pronunciation n.
Play•er (plā′ər),USA pronunciation n.
- a person or thing that plays.
- a person who takes part or is skilled in some game or sport.
- a person who plays parts on the stage;
an actor. - a performer on a musical instrument.
- Informal Termsa participant, as in a conference or business deal.
- Sound Reproductiona sound- or image-reproducing machine:a record player;a cassette player;a videodisc player.
- a gambler.
- Slang Termsa person engaged in illicit or illegal activity, esp. a pimp.
- Sound Reproduction, Music and Dancea mechanical device by which a musical instrument, as a player piano, is played automatically.
- Middle English pleyer, Old English plegere. See play, -er1 bef. 1000
Play•er (plā′ər),USA pronunciation n.
- Biographical Gary, born 1935, South African golfer.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
player /ˈpleɪə/ n
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Player /ˈpleɪə/ n
- Gary ( ˈɡærɪ ). born 1935, South African golfer: winner of nine major championships (1959–78), including the British Open (1959, 1968, 1974)