sport

American  

[spawrt] / spɔrt /

noun

• sports
  plural

1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

   Synonyms:

   game

2. a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.

3. (used with a singular verb) sports, such athletic activities collectively.

   Sports is important in my life.

4. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.

   Synonyms:

   entertainment, fun, amusement

5. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry.

   What he said in sport was taken seriously.

6. mockery; ridicule; derision.

   They made sport of him.

7. an object of derision; laughingstock.

8. something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.

9. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.

10. a sportsman.

11. Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person.

    He was a sport and took his defeat well.

12. Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.

13. Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.

14. Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.

15. Obsolete. amorous dalliance.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in sports or a particular sport.

   sport fishing.

2. suitable for outdoor or informal wear.

   sport clothes.

verb (used without object)

• sports,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sported,
  past participle,  past
• sporting
  present participle

1. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.

2. to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.

   Synonyms:

   caper, romp

3. to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.

4. to trifle or treat lightly.

   to sport with another's emotions.

   Synonyms:

   toy

5. to mock, scoff, or tease.

   to sport at suburban life.

6. Biology. mutate.

verb (used with object)

• sports,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sported,
  past participle,  past
• sporting
  present participle

1. to pass (time) in amusement or sport.

2. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often followed byaway ).

3. Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., especially with ostentation.

   Celebs are frequently seen sporting a wide array of designer handbags.

4. Archaic. to amuse (especially oneself ).

idioms

1. sport one's oak. oak.

sport British  

/ spɔːt /

noun

1. an individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game such as football, tennis, etc

2. such activities considered collectively

3. any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure

4. the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishing

   we had good sport today

5. playful or good-humoured joking

   to say a thing in sport

6. derisive mockery or the object of such mockery

   to make sport of someone

7. someone or something that is controlled by external influences

   the sport of fate

8. informal a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser

9. informal a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game

10. informal a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gambler

    he's a bit of a sport

11. informal a form of address used esp between males

12. biology

    1. an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation

    2. an anomalous characteristic of such an organism

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verb

1. informal (tr) to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner

   she was sporting a new hat

2. (intr) to skip about or frolic happily

3. to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation

4. to dally or trifle (with)

5. rare to squander (time or money)

   sporting one's life away

6. archaic to make fun (of)

7. (intr) biology to produce or undergo a mutation

Synonym Usage

See play .

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sporter
  noun
• sportfulness
  noun
• outsport
  verb (used with object)
• sportful
  adjective
• sportless
  adjective
• unsported
  adjective
• unsportful
  adjective
• sportfully
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sports
  plural

Participles

• sporting
  present
• sported
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sport
  simple
• sports
  simple
• have sported
  perfect
• has sported
  perfect
• am sporting
  progressive
• are sporting
  progressive
• is sporting
  progressive
• have been sporting
  perfect progressive
• has been sporting
  perfect progressive

Past

• sported
  simple
• had sported
  perfect
• was sporting
  progressive
• were sporting
  progressive
• had been sporting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sport
  simple
• will have sported
  perfect
• will be sporting
  progressive
• will have been sporting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sport

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of disport

Explanation

Sport has many definitions, the most familiar of which is a game involving physical exertion — think tennis or hockey. Randomly, sport can also mean to wear, as in, "he looked sharp sporting a yellow sport coat." Most of the definitions of sport involve the idea of fun, or of something being fair. Hopefully organized sports are both. A sporting chance means a player in a game has a fair chance of winning. A good sport is someone who plays fair, and wins and loses graciously. If you torture flies for sport, you do it for fun, and that's just wrong. If you make sport of your little sister's stutter, you make fun of it, and that's even worse.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sport sports sported sporting

“That’s what sport is. That’s what life is, isn’t it? A series of chances,” she says.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

Against all good sense, Ted, an American football coach, moves to England to coach the AFC Richmond Greyhounds, a men’s soccer team, despite knowing nothing about the sport.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

For hackers like me and you, tennis may be a sport for life, but at the professional level, it’s fragile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Not so long ago, Alcaraz and Sinner had the sport in their grip, unleashing epic matches, trading major titles and elevating over the rest of the field.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Not playing another sport, I can see, feel the foil’s power.

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

O’Leary: I’ve moved more into sports collectible cards and watches this year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Watching Graham Platner’s campaign implode was like watching that expensive red sports car get totaled.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

He stopped playing sports, slept 16 hours a day and started failing several classes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

For present-day scenes, Offerman sports his own beard, with some color added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Anyway, if there ever was a sports season to miss, this is the one.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Jeff Kent sported a mustache throughout his career even though some folks teased him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

In the second quarter, the company sported postpaid average revenue per account of $152.91, making for 2% year-over-year growth.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

While the now-replaced aircraft sported a blue and white exterior, the new aircraft has a navy blue underbelly, thin red stripe and blue upper body.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Rhoback has been a particular hit within the golf community, and has been sported by Wall Street bigwigs from JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon to Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

The three of them marveled over ladies who sported hair curled tightly into the latest bobs, high-heeled shoes, and dresses made of cotton and crepe.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper

Newcastle United sporting director Ross Wilson says the club did not plan to sell Bruno Guimaraes, but their "very emotional" captain wanted to join Arsenal.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

There, crawling on eight legs across the white sheets toward us, sporting a single dot on its back, was a deep-red, plump tick.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

He has held ownership stakes in Italy’s AS Roma and Welsh club Swansea City and has served MLS as co-chair of the league’s sporting and competition committee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Campari CPR -0.34%decrease; red down pointing triangle sees untapped opportunities for its popular Aperol brand: taking on beer, a stadium favorite, at concerts and sporting events.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

A bottle of vinegar hot sauce sat in the middle of four glasses of iced tea, the edges of each one sporting a wedge of shiny-skinned lemon.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• athletics
• fun
• game
• pastime