Meaning & use
gramophone
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Meaning
nouncountableold-fashioned
An old machine that plays recorded sound from flat discs, using a needle and a horn to make the sound louder.
Grammar: You can say 'on a gramophone' or 'a gramophone record'.
Patterns
- on a gramophone
- a gramophone record
- play a gramophone
My grandfather still has a gramophone in his attic.
They listened to old jazz on a gramophone.
The museum displays a gramophone from the 1920s.
Word forms
| plural | gramophones |
|---|
Common combinations
- gramophone record
- He collects gramophone records from the early 20th century.
- wind up a gramophone
- You had to wind up the gramophone before playing a record.
- on a gramophone
- The music sounded crackly on a gramophone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- record player
- The modern term for a machine that plays records; 'gramophone' is used for historical ones.
- phonograph
- An older American term for a similar machine; it can also refer to early cylinder players.
- turntable
- The part of a modern record player that spins the record; not the whole machine.
Word family
- gramophonic adjective
- Relating to a gramophone or its sound.
Commonly confused: gramophone or gram?
gramophone vs gram
A 'gram' is a unit of weight; a 'gramophone' is a sound machine. They are not related.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'gramophone' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A gramophone plays records. Option 2 confuses it with a scale; option 3 confuses it with a telephone; option 4 confuses it with a television.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gramophone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.