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obstacle course

American  

noun

  • obstacle courses
    plural
  1. a military training area having obstacles, as hurdles, ditches, and walls, that must be surmounted or crossed in succession.

  2. Informal. an event, situation, course of action, or the like that presents many challenges or difficulties.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


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.

See Examples For:

East Williamsburg is a sprawling obstacle course of shops and bars, all catering to the younger new residents who have moved to New York City in order to work hard and play harder.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

Yuriy, a senior instructor who led one of the squads across the gruelling obstacle course, has at times pondered the necessity of such trials given the nature of drone warfare.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

For much of my life, walking in Indian cities has felt less like exercising a right than negotiating an obstacle course.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Pitnick describes fertilization as an obstacle course rather than a straightforward race.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

We’re all sitting at the two picnic tables in the private party room by the obstacle course.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

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