spring training
Americannoun
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a program of physical exercise, practice, and exhibition games followed by a baseball team in the late winter and early spring, before the start of the regular season.
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the period during which such a program takes place, usually from the beginning of March until the middle of April.
Etymology
Origin of spring training
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before this year, the utilityman, who agreed to a one-year, $4.5-million deal with the Dodgers in February, never missed spring training or opening day in his career.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
After acquiring the Atlanta Braves baseball team in 1976, he sent an advertising sales executive to spring training to embed with the club, in uniform, so he could learn about baseball.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
Days before spring training, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
He skipped spring training his first two minor league seasons to complete his classes at Washburn and graduated in 1969 with a degree in elementary education.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
A young ball-player looks on his first spring training trip as a stage-struck young woman regards the theatre.
From Pitching in a Pinch or, Baseball from the Inside by Mathewson, Christy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.