: one that plays: such as
a
: a person who plays a game
a baseball player
a chess player
She's one of the team's best players.
b
: a person who plays a musical instrument
a piano player
c
: actor
… what drew these audiences was the emergence of the movie star from the ranks of the wholly anonymous players of a decade earlier.—
David Nasaw
David Nasaw
d
: a device that reproduces recorded material (such as video images or music) from a usually specified medium
a CD player
e
: one actively involved especially in a competitive field or process : participant
a key player in politics
f
or less commonly playa US slang
: a person and especially a man who has many lovers
Handsome and a well-paid professional, Keith, 35, chose to be a player, juggling a series of relatively brief and sometimes over-lapping intimate relationships with women.—Michel Marriott
Michel MarriottThis album has a lot of sexual references. It's almost like Bobby's … a playa.—Elliott Wilson
Elliott WilsonNote: The variant playa is more common in transcribed speech.
Examples of player in a Sentence
She's one of the team's best players.
The band's lead guitar player hurt his hand and couldn't play.
Piano players are called pianists.
Recent Examples on the Web
Founded in Texas in 1982, Autry sneakers became a hit among tennis players for its sporty, Americana aesthetic.
—Vogue, 2 May 2025
The national security adviser is supposed to be an honest broker among the various national-security players.
—The Editors, National Review, 2 May 2025
Williams is just the fourth player UConn has signed out of the portal since it was established in 2019, but the Huskies have a perfect success rate on incoming transfers so far.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2025
Stars This one is easy: The Lakers’ best players weren’t good enough.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for player
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Vogue, 2 May 2025
The national security adviser is supposed to be an honest broker among the various national-security players.
—The Editors, National Review, 2 May 2025
Williams is just the fourth player UConn has signed out of the portal since it was established in 2019, but the Huskies have a perfect success rate on incoming transfers so far.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2025
Stars This one is easy: The Lakers’ best players weren’t good enough.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for player
Cite this Entry
“Player.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/player. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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