: 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 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 mediumTan Vinha 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
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
In the following years, Tehran also became a major player in regional conflicts, including Syria’s civil war, where IRGC forces were at the forefront of operations.
—Abbas Al Lawati, CNN Money, 1 Mar. 2026
While countries such as Spain and clubs such as Barcelona train their young players for years using the same system, with the same positional requirements and following the same procedures, Germany jumps from trend to trend.
—Philipp Lahm, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
Karaban, the program’s all-time leader in wins, would be the 25th men’s player inducted into the Huskies of Honor and the fourth to go in as an active player.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 28 Feb. 2026
The Dodgers have 33 non-roster players in big-league camp.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for player
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Abbas Al Lawati, CNN Money, 1 Mar. 2026
While countries such as Spain and clubs such as Barcelona train their young players for years using the same system, with the same positional requirements and following the same procedures, Germany jumps from trend to trend.
—Philipp Lahm, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
Karaban, the program’s all-time leader in wins, would be the 25th men’s player inducted into the Huskies of Honor and the fourth to go in as an active player.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 28 Feb. 2026
The Dodgers have 33 non-roster players in big-league camp.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for player
Cite this Entry
“Player.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/player. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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