: 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
d
: a device or service that reproduces recorded material (such as video images or music)
You can listen to the full episode using the media player above (or wherever you listen to podcasts).—Tan Vinh
—often used with a specified mediuma digital media 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
This album has a lot of sexual references. It's almost like Bobby's … a playa.—Elliott Wilson
Note: The variant playa is more common in transcribed speech.
Cite this Entry
“Player.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/player. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.
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