player

¹ American  

[pley-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that plays.

2. a person who takes part or is skilled in some game or sport.

3. a person who plays parts on the stage; an actor.

4. a performer on a musical instrument.

5. Informal. a participant, as in a conference or business deal.

6. a machine or piece of software that reproduces sound or images: a videodisc player;

   a record player;

   a videodisc player;

   a digital media player.

7. a gambler.

8. Slang. a person engaged in illicit or illegal activity, especially a pimp.

9. a mechanical device by which a musical instrument, as a player piano, is played automatically.

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Player ² American  

[pley-er] / ˈpleɪ ər /

noun

1. Gary, born 1935, South African golfer.

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player ¹ British  

/ ˈpleɪə /

noun

1. a person who participates in or is skilled at some game or sport

2. a person who plays a game or sport professionally

3. a person who plays a musical instrument

4. an actor

5. informal a participant, esp a powerful one, in a particular field of activity

   a leading city player

6. See record player

7. the playing mechanism in a Pianola

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Player ² British  

/ ˈpleɪə /

noun

1. Gary (ˈɡærɪ). born 1935, South African golfer: winner of nine major championships (1959–78), including the British Open (1959, 1968, 1974)

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Other Word Forms

• counterplayer noun
• nonplayer noun
• self-player noun
• superplayer noun

Etymology

Origin of player

before 1000; Middle English pleyer, Old English plegere. See play, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Close said at the beginning of the tournament she had to apologize to a player because she “really screwed up.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Each player was injured in the first half of a blowout loss on Thursday to Oklahoma City but returned to play in the second half.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Cherki featured in France's friendly win over Colombia during the recent international break, but 1998 World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry provided a scathing assessment of the player and his work-rate.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

"It is the only alliance that, until now, had a major player behaving like a benevolent hegemon, one that did not impose its actions on others by force," he told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

“Unfortunately, he is a far better pool player than myself. Would you two care to join us for a round?”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• athlete
• competitor
• member
• opponent
• participant
• pro
• professional
• rookie