player

player — noun

1. anyone who plays a sport, board game, card game, or video game — either for fun,

1.nounA1
Definition

anyone who plays a sport, board game, card game, or video game — either for fun, as part of a team, or as their job.

Example

Maya is the youngest player on her school basketball team.

player on [team]

Each chess player has only ten minutes to finish the whole game.

[game] player

Common collocations
  • football player
  • tennis player
  • chess player
  • poker player
  • professional player
  • young player
Synonyms
  • competitor

    stresses rivalry; used in contests with prizes

  • athlete

    only for sports, not card or board games

  • gamer

    informal; usually only video games

Antonyms
  • spectator

    someone who watches rather than plays

  • coach

    someone who trains the players from the sideline

Grammar Patterns

[N] of [team/sport]

[adj] + player

Usage Note

Often modified by a sport or game word: 'football player', 'poker player', 'video game player'. The activity word goes directly before 'player', without 'of'.

Common Mistakes

She is a player of football.
She is a football player.
the sport name comes before 'player' as a compound, not after with 'of'.

2. anyone whose hobby or profession is making music on an instrument such as a guit

2.nounA2
Definition

anyone whose hobby or profession is making music on an instrument such as a guitar, piano, or violin.

Example

Lina has been a piano player since she was four years old.

[instrument] player

The jazz band is looking for a new bass player and a drummer.

looking for a [instrument] player

Common collocations
  • guitar player
  • piano player
  • bass player
  • drum player
  • trumpet player
Synonyms
  • musician

    broader; includes singers and composers, not just instrument players

  • instrumentalist

    formal; mainly used in classical music contexts

Grammar Patterns

[instrument] + player

[adj] + player

Usage Note

Formed by putting the instrument name directly before 'player': 'flute player', 'drum player', 'guitar player'. For some instruments a more specific word is preferred (e.g. 'pianist' instead of 'piano player', 'drummer' instead of 'drum player'), but 'X player' is always acceptable.

Common Mistakes

She is a player of guitar.
She is a guitar player.
the instrument name comes before 'player' as a compound; 'of' is wrong here.

3. a piece of equipment, app, or software whose only job is to play back recorded s

3.nounA2
Definition

a piece of equipment, app, or software whose only job is to play back recorded sound or video files for the user.

Example

Grandpa keeps an old CD player on the wooden bookshelf next to his armchair.

[media] + player

Marcus rebooted the DVD player twice, but the disc tray still refused to open.

[device] player + verb

Common collocations
  • CD player
  • DVD player
  • MP3 player
  • music player
  • video player
  • media player
  • portable player
Synonyms
  • device

    general; any electronic gadget, not specifically for media

  • deck

    informal; mostly for tape or record players

Antonyms
  • recorder

    a machine that captures sound or video, the opposite function

Grammar Patterns

[media-type] + player

Usage Note

Almost always preceded by the type of media or format: 'CD player', 'DVD player', 'MP3 player', 'music player', 'video player'. Bare 'a player' for a device is unclear without context.

Common Mistakes

I bought a new player yesterday.
I bought a new MP3 player yesterday.
name the format or media type, otherwise 'player' will be read as a person.

4. a person, company, or country whose actions matter a lot in a certain field, mar

4.nounB2
Definition

a person, company, or country whose actions matter a lot in a certain field, market, or event — someone other people have to pay attention to.

Example

Samsung is now a major player in the global chip market.

major player in [market]

Small farms cannot compete with the big players in the dairy industry.

big players in [industry]

Common collocations
  • major player
  • key player
  • big player
  • main player
  • leading player
  • global player
Synonyms
  • stakeholder

    someone with a financial or strategic interest, not always influential

  • force

    as in 'a force in the industry'; emphasises power and impact

Antonyms
  • outsider

    someone with little influence in the field

Grammar Patterns

[adj] + player + in [field/deal]

key/major/big player

Usage Note

Almost always preceded by an adjective like 'key', 'major', 'big', 'main', or 'leading', and followed by 'in' + the field. Bare 'a player in business' sounds incomplete; use 'a big player in business'.

Common Mistakes

Our company is a player in the market.
Our company is a major player in the market.
this sense almost always needs an adjective like 'major' or 'key' before 'player'.

5. a person whose job is to perform parts in plays — an older or literary word for

5.nounC1
Definition

a person whose job is to perform parts in plays — an older or literary word for an actor.

Example

In Shakespeare's day, every player on the London stage was a man.

literary register

The director gathered all the players for one last reading of the script.

the players (collective)

Common collocations
  • the players
  • strolling players
  • company of players
Synonyms
  • actor

    the standard modern term; covers all eras and media

  • performer

    broader; includes singers, dancers, comedians too

Grammar Patterns

[N]

the players

Usage Note

Now mainly literary or historical. In modern speech, use 'actor'. Distinguish from sense 1 (sport/game) by context: theatre, drama, or Shakespeare cues.

Common Mistakes

My favourite Hollywood player is Tom Hanks.
My favourite Hollywood actor is Tom Hanks.
for modern film and TV, 'actor' is the natural word; 'player' here sounds old-fashioned.

6. the word used inside the official name of certain drama groups or theatre compan

6.nounC2
Definition

the word used inside the official name of certain drama groups or theatre companies, usually after a place or family name.

Example

The Tainan Players will perform 'A Doll's House' next Friday at the city hall.

[Place] Players (proper noun)

Grandma joined the Riverside Players in 1965 and acted with them for thirty years.

joined the [Name] Players

Common collocations
  • the [Name] Players
  • amateur Players
  • university Players
Synonyms
  • company

    as in 'theatre company'; the modern equivalent in names

  • troupe

    small group of performers who travel together

Grammar Patterns

[Place] Players

the [Name] Players

Usage Note

Only appears as part of a proper name, always capitalised and almost always plural. Cannot be used alone as a common noun in this sense.

Common Mistakes

There are many players in our town.' (meaning theatre groups)
There are many drama groups in our town.
'Players' in the theatre-name sense only works inside an actual company name like 'the Riverside Players'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words name someone taking part in an activity, but each fits a slightly different scene. 'Player' is the broadest and most neutral — it covers anything from a five-year-old at a board game to a professional in a stadium. 'Competitor' adds the idea of a contest with prizes or rankings; you would not call casual friends playing cards 'competitors'. 'Athlete' is restricted to physical sports and often suggests training and skill, so a chess 'player' is rarely an 'athlete'. 'Gamer' is informal and almost always means video games. 'Contestant' belongs to game shows and competitions where people are picked or invited to take part. Compare: 'Maya is a strong basketball player' (general), 'Maya is one of three competitors left in the final' (contest), 'Maya trains six days a week as an athlete' (physical sport).

player ↗competitor ↗athlete ↗gamer ↗contestant ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • team player
  • key player
  • football player
  • guitar player
  • CD player
  • music player
  • MP3 player

Phrases

Prepositions

  • player in
  • player on
  • player for
  • player from

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

'Player' comes from Old English 'plegere', meaning 'one who plays', formed from the verb 'plegan' ('to play, take part, perform') plus the suffix '-er' marking a person who does something. The root verb is shared with several Germanic languages and originally covered both lively bodily movement and more formal performance. By the late Middle Ages, English speakers were already using 'player' for game-takers, instrument-players, and stage actors at the same time, which is why one short word still covers all of those today.