: 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
Girma, after all, is widely viewed as the United States’ top defender and one of the country’s best young players regardless of position.
—Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2025
But poultry’s big players here have always included a number of large companies.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2025
The fourth-year pass rusher out of Penn State became just the second player in NFL history (Reggie White) with 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons after finishing with exactly 12 in 2024.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 2025
Max Christie and Gabe Vincent, two other players tasked with helping the Lakers with the little things, defended Stephen Curry wonderfully, limiting the Warriors star to 13 points on four-for-17 shooting, Curry missing all eight of his second-half attempts.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
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Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2025
But poultry’s big players here have always included a number of large companies.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2025
The fourth-year pass rusher out of Penn State became just the second player in NFL history (Reggie White) with 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons after finishing with exactly 12 in 2024.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 2025
Max Christie and Gabe Vincent, two other players tasked with helping the Lakers with the little things, defended Stephen Curry wonderfully, limiting the Warriors star to 13 points on four-for-17 shooting, Curry missing all eight of his second-half attempts.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for player
Dictionary Entries Near player
Cite this Entry
“Player.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/player. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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