player
/ˈpleɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpleɪər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈplā-ər/ (ame, mw)
player — noun
- playersingular
- playersplural
1. anyone who plays a sport, board game, card game, or video game — either for fun,
anyone who plays a sport, board game, card game, or video game — either for fun, as part of a team, or as their job.
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
The coach said Carlos is one of the best young tennis players in Taipei.
Aunt Mei needs three more players before the family Mahjong game can begin.
Two players were sent off after the fight near the goal.
- competitor
stresses rivalry; used in contests with prizes
- athlete
only for sports, not card or board games
- gamer
informal; usually only video games
文法句型
[N] of [team/sport]
[adj] + player
用法筆記
Often modified by a sport or game word: 'football player', 'poker player', 'video game player'. The activity word goes directly before 'player', without 'of'.
常見錯誤
2. anyone whose hobby or profession is making music on an instrument such as a guit
anyone whose hobby or profession is making music on an instrument such as a guitar, piano, or violin.
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
My uncle Marcus is the lead guitar player in a small rock band.
Only two violin players showed up at the rainy school audition this morning.
- musician
broader; includes singers and composers, not just instrument players
- instrumentalist
formal; mainly used in classical music contexts
文法句型
[instrument] + player
[adj] + player
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
3. a piece of equipment, app, or software whose only job is to play back recorded s
a piece of equipment, app, or software whose only job is to play back recorded sound or video files for the user.
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
Tap the orange headphone icon to launch the music player on your phone.
The video player on the news website keeps freezing whenever Lina scrolls down to read the comments.
Sarah clipped a small MP3 player to her sleeve before her morning run along the river.
- recorder
a machine that captures sound or video, the opposite function
文法句型
[media-type] + player
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
4. a person, company, or country whose actions matter a lot in a certain field, mar
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.
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]
Senator Lin became a key player in the talks that finally ended the long port strike.
India is emerging as an important player in clean-energy research, especially in cheap solar panels.
Three local hospitals are the main players behind the new vaccine project.
- stakeholder
someone with a financial or strategic interest, not always influential
- force
as in 'a force in the industry'; emphasises power and impact
- outsider
someone with little influence in the field
文法句型
[adj] + player + in [field/deal]
key/major/big player
用法筆記
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'.
常見錯誤
5. a person whose job is to perform parts in plays — an older or literary word for
a person whose job is to perform parts in plays — an older or literary word for an actor.
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)
Hamlet asks the players to perform a scene about a king's murder.
The old theatre programme listed every player's name in tiny black letters.
文法句型
[N]
the players
用法筆記
Now mainly literary or historical. In modern speech, use 'actor'. Distinguish from sense 1 (sport/game) by context: theatre, drama, or Shakespeare cues.
常見錯誤
6. the word used inside the official name of certain drama groups or theatre compan
the word used inside the official name of certain drama groups or theatre companies, usually after a place or family name.
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
Tickets for the Oxford University Players are sold out every spring.
The Dublin Players were founded by a group of teachers in 1932.
文法句型
[Place] Players
the [Name] Players
用法筆記
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.