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spectator sport

American

noun

any sport that can be watched by spectators, as football or basketball, usually for a fee.

spectator sport British

noun

a sport that attracts more people as spectators than as participants

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of spectator sport

First recorded in 1940–45

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.

Trading is being reimagined as a spectator sport, complete with play-by-play commentary and, of course, prediction bets.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

For the last three decades, badminton has been a competitive Olympic sport, and with "bird" speeds topping 300 mph in "smash" shots, it certainly makes for exciting spectator sport.

From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024

In both countries, football lags behind as a spectator sport by a considerable distance.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2023

We have become so conditioned to the start of NFL free agency being a spectator sport for the Seahawks that the news of an actual significant signing Monday seemed like a prank.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 14, 2023

I wondered if I should have brought along my boyfriend to make the experience feel more real or important, but I hadn't expected it to be a spectator sport.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023