stadium

[stey-dee-uhm]

noun

plural

stadiums, stadia 

1. a sports arena, usually oval or horseshoe-shaped, with tiers of seats for spectators.

2. an ancient Greek course for foot races, typically semicircular, with tiers of seats for spectators.

3. an ancient Greek and Roman unit of length, the Athenian unit being equal to about 607 feet (185 meters).

4. a stage in a process or in the life of an organism.

5. Entomology.,  stage.

stadium

/ ˈsteɪdɪəm /

noun

1. a sports arena with tiered seats for spectators

2. (in ancient Greece) a course for races, usually located between two hills providing natural slopes for tiers of seats

3. an ancient Greek measure of length equivalent to about 607 feet or 184 metres

4. (in many arthropods) the interval between two consecutive moultings

5. obsolete,  a particular period or stage in the development of a disease

Word History and Origins

Origin of stadium¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek stádion unit of distance, racecourse

Word History and Origins

Origin of stadium¹

C16: via Latin from Greek stadion , changed from spadion a racecourse, from spān to pull; also influenced by Greek stadios steady

Example Sentences

“Band on the Run” became an international smash and McCartney once again found himself playing arenas and stadiums with yet another iteration of Wings.

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Home attendance at a stadium located 26 miles from campus has been a deepening concern in recent seasons for UCLA.

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Before each of the football team’s last two home games at the Rose Bowl, an airplane has flown over the stadium pulling a banner calling for his dismissal.

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In the 1960s, the city displaced multiple communities, predominantly made up of Mexican American residents, to make way for the stadium.

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“Fortunately Orel was so good that year that he overcame the significant disadvantage of my being in the stadium,” he said.

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Related Words

• amphitheater 
• field 
• garden 
• gymnasium