tennis

[ten-is]

noun

1. a game played on a rectangular court by two players or two pairs of players equipped with rackets, in which a ball is driven back and forth over a low net that divides the court in half.

tennis

/ ˈtɛnɪs /

noun

1. 1. a racket game played between two players or pairs of players who hit a ball to and fro over a net on a rectangular court of grass, asphalt, clay, etc See also lawn tennis real tennis court tennis table tennis

   2. ( as modifier )

      tennis court

      tennis racket

Word History and Origins

Origin of tennis¹

1350–1400; Middle English tenetz, ten ( e ) ys < Anglo-French: take!, imperative plural of tenir to hold, take, receive, apparently used as a server's call

Word History and Origins

Origin of tennis¹

C14: probably from Anglo-French tenetz hold (imperative), from Old French tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre

Example Sentences

Holger Rune, one of the world’s best tennis players, was in Shanghai this month, sitting on court in a puddle of his own sweat, when he turned to the chair umpire in bewilderment.

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World tennis No. 1 Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, recently received a three-month ban after blaming two positive tests for an anabolic steroid on a spray used by his physical therapist.

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It’s meant to be more like tennis—civilized, sedate.

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If there was ever any doubt that Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, was the best hard court player in women’s tennis, her fourth major title on the surface was enough to banish it.

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Tennis Association has asked carriers to airbrush the reaction, tennis scribe Ben Rothenberg reported –Alcaraz-Sinner has become the best theater in sports.

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