phonograph

American  

[foh-nuh-graf, -grahf] / ˈfoʊ nəˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

1. any sound-reproducing machine using records in the form of cylinders or discs.

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phonograph British  

/ ˈfəʊnəˌɡrɑːf, -ˌɡræf /

noun

1. an early form of gramophone capable of recording and reproducing sound on wax cylinders

2. Also called: gramophone.   record player.  a device for reproducing the sounds stored on a record: now usually applied to the nearly obsolete type that uses a clockwork motor and acoustic horn

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Etymology

Origin of phonograph

1825–35 in sense “phonogram”; 1877 for the “talking phonograph” invented by T. A. Edison; phono- + -graph

Compare meaning

How does phonograph compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• phonograph vs. gramophone
• phonograph vs. record player

Example Sentences

An animated trailer appears to draw on the story of Korean students whose singing of the song US anthropologist Alice Fletcher recorded on a cylinder phonograph in Washington in 1896.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

It was also one of the first songs ever recorded, and the tune with which Thomas Edison’s phonograph was introduced to the London press on Aug. 14, 1888.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

These funds were used to purchase local books, periodicals, phonograph records, and "other media" in multiple Indian languages, enriching collections at over two dozen universities.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2024

Wax cylinders were traditionally played on a phonograph, where, similar to a modern record player, a stylus followed grooves in the wax and translated the information into sound.

From New York Times • Jan. 2, 2023

A good example is the history of Thomas Edison’s phonograph, the most original invention of the greatest inventor of modern times.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• stereo