: 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
The barebones campaign website of Brad Gaines touts his history as a football player in high school and at Vanderbilt University.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
When asked about the changing landscape of college athletics, Calipari said more regulations need to be put in place, including tougher restrictions on transfers and years that players are able to maintain eligibility.
—Michael Harley, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
Though slightly undersized, Kanak (6-2, 236) has big-time speed for a player of that build.
—Dane Brugler, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Unlike many Souls-like games, Silksong doesn't have a spammable dodge button that offers the player brief invulnerability to almost every attack, regardless of location.
—ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for player
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
When asked about the changing landscape of college athletics, Calipari said more regulations need to be put in place, including tougher restrictions on transfers and years that players are able to maintain eligibility.
—Michael Harley, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
Though slightly undersized, Kanak (6-2, 236) has big-time speed for a player of that build.
—Dane Brugler, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Unlike many Souls-like games, Silksong doesn't have a spammable dodge button that offers the player brief invulnerability to almost every attack, regardless of location.
—ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 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 12 Sep. 2025.
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