sport
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.
a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
sports, (used with a singular verb) such athletic activities collectively: Sports is important in my life.
diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.
an object of derision; laughingstock.
something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
a sportsman.
Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person: He was a sport and took his defeat well.
Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.
Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.
Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.
Obsolete. amorous dalliance.
of, relating to, or used in sports or a particular sport:sport fishing.
suitable for outdoor or informal wear: sport clothes.
to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.
to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
to trifle or treat lightly: to sport with another's emotions.
to mock, scoff, or tease: to sport at suburban life.
Biology. mutate (def. 4).
to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often followed by away).
Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., especially with ostentation: Celebs are frequently seen sporting a wide array of designer handbags.
Archaic. to amuse (especially oneself).
Idioms about sport
sport one's oak. oak (def. 5).
Origin of sport
1synonym study For sport
Other words for sport
Other words from sport
- sport·ful, adjective
- sport·ful·ly, adverb
- sport·ful·ness, noun
- sport·less, adjective
- out·sport, verb (used with object)
- un·sport·ed, adjective
- un·sport·ful, adjective
Words Nearby sport
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sport in a sentence
The hardest things to teach and evaluate online, instructors say, are the skills, strategies and collaboration involved in team sports.
Kids are shooting hoops with rolled up socks, but pandemic physical education is not canceled | Kelly Field | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostIf kneeling during the anthem is injecting politics into sports, so is that request.
Mark Cuban had the right idea: It’s time to rethink how we use the national anthem | John Feinstein | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostAll gatherings, including at sporting events, have been banned.
Novak Djokovic’s five-set battle at Australian Open started with fans and ended without them | Matt Bonesteel | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostHermetically sealing off sports from the rest of society isn’t a way to accomplish that.
The pregame national anthem — in all its roiling contradictions — still has something to offer | Barry Svrluga | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostReally, he was doing sports performance before sports performance became a high priority in college sports.
Jaguars’ Urban Meyer hires strength coach accused of mistreating players while at Iowa | Matt Bonesteel | February 11, 2021 | Washington Post
Cricket is a sport enjoyed by hundreds of millions around the globe, mainly in former British colonies.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player | William O’Connor | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen he reaches a low point in his career, in 1997, he writes that he “even contemplated moving away from the sport completely.”
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player | William O’Connor | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSachin Tendulkar may be one of the most brilliant players in the sport, but he struggles to liven up his memoirs.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player | William O’Connor | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe sport of surfing is a very sexy sport, beautiful people on beautiful beaches in minimal clothing.
Anastasia Ashley, Surfer-Cum-Model, Rides The Viral Internet Wave | James Joiner | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLike I said, as a team we drew attention to the sport in a way no one ever has.
Many British Ferns evidence a marked tendency to “sport,” and this is a fact which the beginner should always bear in mind.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinHe said something laughingly to the head guide to the effect that climbing was good sport and a fine test for the nerves.
Uncanny Tales | VariousTiger-hunting, by the way, was considered great sport by Yung Pak's father.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeThe more enthusiastic among the audience, male and female, also sport the red cap of liberty.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsThey had come down from the kraal to enjoy the sport and get some of the meat, of which they are particularly fond.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
British Dictionary definitions for sport
/ (spɔːt) /
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
such activities considered collectively
any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure
the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishing: we had good sport today
playful or good-humoured joking: to say a thing in sport
derisive mockery or the object of such mockery: to make sport of someone
someone or something that is controlled by external influences: the sport of fate
informal (sometimes qualified by good, bad, etc) a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser
informal a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game
informal a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gambler: he's a bit of a sport
Australian and NZ informal a form of address used esp between males
biology
an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation
an anomalous characteristic of such an organism
(tr) informal to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner: she was sporting a new hat
(intr) to skip about or frolic happily
to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation
(intr often foll by with) to dally or trifle (with)
(tr often foll by away) rare to squander (time or money): sporting one's life away
(intr often foll by with) archaic to make fun (of)
(intr) biology to produce or undergo a mutation
Origin of sport
1- See also sports
Derived forms of sport
- sporter, noun
- sportful, adjective
- sportfully, adverb
- sportfulness, noun
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
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