bleachers

British  

/ ˈbliːtʃəz /

plural noun

1. (sometimes singular) a tier of seats in a sports stadium, etc, that are unroofed and inexpensive

2. the people occupying such seats

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Explanation

Bleachers are raised seating, usually for sporting events, that's arranged in tiers. Your favorite way to spend a Friday evening might be sitting in the bleachers and cheering for a high school football team. Bleachers are a set of benches made of wood or metal, used for inexpensive seating in gyms or beside sports fields. Students sometimes sit in the bleachers for a pep rally or speech, and soccer fans might gather before a game, choosing spots in the bleachers that give them a good view of the field. Since the late 19th century, bleachers has been used in the US, inspired by their typical wooden seats, bleached by the sun.

Example Sentences

The plan calls for three rows of shaded concrete bleachers for spectators alongside the competition pool.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

From a distance, to those in the finish-line bleachers watching below, it looks terrifying.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

It all came down to the final end but the Italians kept their nerve to edge to victory and cause a thunderous barrage of noise to roll down the wooden bleachers.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

For the architects, the descending bleachers constitute a “reverse stoop,” another monumentalized form, this time of the brownstone stoops that are the front-row seats to Harlem’s street life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Mong came jogging over from the bleachers and slapped the hell out of both our hands.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña