multiplayer

American

[muhl-tee-pley-er, muhl-tahy‐] / ˈmʌl tiˌpleɪ ər, ˈmʌl taɪ‐ /

adjective

noting or relating to a video game, or a portion of a video game, in which more than one person plays at the same time in a shared game environment: a multiplayer experience.

a multiplayer game;
multiplayer mode;
a multiplayer experience.
relating to or involving more than one player.

The pitcher was traded in a multiplayer deal.

multiplayer British

/ ˈmʌltɪˌpleɪə /

noun

a mode of play involving more than one player at one time in a computer or video game

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of multiplayer

First recorded in 1945–50; multi- + player

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In Australia, there is some anecdotal evidence that younger teens have turned instead to multiplayer online games with chat functions not covered by the ban.

From The Wall Street Journal

The developer of a multiplayer shooter given top billing at The Game Awards has laid off multiple staff members just two weeks after its release.

From BBC

They also complained its trailer failed to explain exactly how the game worked and what distinguished it from other games in the crowded multiplayer space.

From BBC

Online comments were quick to compare the game to Concord - Sony's multiplayer shooter flop that was taken off sale just two weeks after release.

From BBC

In 1997, Origin Systems launched “UItima Online,” the first megahit of a revolutionary new genre called the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or MMORPG.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023