Gamer
nounA person who plays video games, especially as a regular hobby.
How to spell gamer
5 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce gamer
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does gamer mean?
- nounA person who plays video games, especially as a regular hobby.
Gamer in a sentence
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Every serious gamer in the office talked about the new console release.
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As a lifelong gamer, she owned three different gaming systems.
Where does gamer come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
The word builds on 'game', which descends from the Old English 'gamen', meaning amusement, fun, or sport, a noun also found in related Germanic languages such as Old High German and Old Norse. For most of its history 'game' described any organised play, hunting, or competitive pastime, and the agent suffix '-er' was attached to label a person who takes part. The modern noun 'gamer' is comparatively recent: older uses meant a gambler or a keen sportsman, but from the late twentieth century onward it settled firmly onto people who play video and computer games. The spelling is refreshingly transparent, since the silent 'e' of 'game' is kept before the '-er' ending, so the word reads as game plus er. Its rise tracks the growth of the gaming industry, and it is now one of the most familiar self-descriptions in popular culture.
How the word is built
- game (from Old English gamen: amusement, sport)
- -er (agent suffix: one who does)
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