Meaning & use
game console
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
An electronic machine designed mainly for playing video games, usually connected to a television and operated with handheld controllers.
Grammar: Countable: a game console, several game consoles.
Patterns
- play something on a game console
- a game console for something
He saved for months to buy the latest game console.
Our game console is plugged into the living room television.
Many families own a game console as well as a computer.
Word forms
| plural | game consoles |
|---|
Common combinations
- a handheld game console
- She plays a handheld game console on long train journeys.
- a home game console
- A home game console needs a screen to work.
- connect a game console
- Connect the game console to the HDMI port on the back.
- a next-generation game console
- The next-generation game console sold out within hours.
- a game console controller
- The game console controller needs new batteries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- console
- Console is the shortened everyday form, and in context it means the same thing though on its own it can also mean a control panel.
- gaming system
- Gaming system is a broader phrase that may include accessories or a gaming PC, whereas game console names one specific type of machine.
- video game system
- Video game system is slightly more formal and is common on packaging and in shops.
Word family
- console noun
- short form, also a panel of controls
- gamer noun
- a person who plays video games regularly
- gaming noun
- the activity of playing video games
- controller noun
- the handheld device used to play
Commonly confused: game console or console (verb)?
game console vs console (verb)
To console someone means to comfort them when they are sad, and it is stressed on the second syllable, unlike the noun.
Practice
Which item is a game console?
Choose one answer.
A game console is a dedicated machine for video games, usually connected to a screen. A keyboard, a charging cable and a website do not fit that purpose.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “game console”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.