: 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
See the crowd interact with players and take in the action.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 26 July 2025
Boston could still use another frontline starter to pair at the top and open up its platoon players by finally finding a full-time first baseman on the trade market after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in May.
—Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 July 2025
Scott Linehan, a senior offensive assistant at New Orleans, said an area where Moore excels is breaking down complex concepts for his players.
—Shaun Goodwin
july 25, Idaho Statesman, 25 July 2025
In many ways, that is an apt reflection of the player’s broader football experience — a late bloomer who has had to dig deep into his reserves of willpower and work ethic to break through barriers time and again.
—Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for player
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 26 July 2025
Boston could still use another frontline starter to pair at the top and open up its platoon players by finally finding a full-time first baseman on the trade market after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in May.
—Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 July 2025
Scott Linehan, a senior offensive assistant at New Orleans, said an area where Moore excels is breaking down complex concepts for his players.
—Shaun Goodwin
july 25, Idaho Statesman, 25 July 2025
In many ways, that is an apt reflection of the player’s broader football experience — a late bloomer who has had to dig deep into his reserves of willpower and work ethic to break through barriers time and again.
—Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 25 July 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 29 Jul. 2025.
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