stadium
Americannoun
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a sports arena, usually oval or horseshoe-shaped, with tiers of seats for spectators.
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an ancient Greek course for foot races, typically semicircular, with tiers of seats for spectators.
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an ancient Greek and Roman unit of length, the Athenian unit being equal to about 607 feet (185 meters).
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a stage in a process or in the life of an organism.
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Entomology. stage.
noun
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a sports arena with tiered seats for spectators
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(in ancient Greece) a course for races, usually located between two hills providing natural slopes for tiers of seats
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an ancient Greek measure of length equivalent to about 607 feet or 184 metres
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(in many arthropods) the interval between two consecutive moultings
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obsolete a particular period or stage in the development of a disease
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stadium
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek stádion unit of distance, racecourse
Explanation
A stadium is a large outdoor venue for sports or concerts. If you were a Roman emperor, you might've watched a chariot race at a stadium, but these days you're more likely to go to a stadium to see a football game or your favorite band. The word stadium is the Latin form of the Greek stadion, which was a length of about 600 human feet. Running tracks at the earliest Greek Olympics were approximately one stadion in length, and Roman tracks of a similar size were surrounded by tiered seating — which led to the English meaning of stadium, a track or field in the middle of tiered seats.
Vocabulary lists containing stadium
Set, Hut! Football Vocabulary
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The Smashing Lexicon of Tennis
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Ancient Rome - Introductory
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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.
A police blockade prevented the demonstrators from reaching the stadium.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
The stadium workers’ new contract, if signed, is set to expire in April 2028, teeing up another potential fight before the Summer Olympics begin in Los Angeles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
"We intend to reach the stadium," demonstrator Angel Villalobos told AFP on Tuesday.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
At the center of one of the competing measures is a proposal to change how Inglewood taxes stadium tickets.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
The old man turned to the exit of the stadium.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
