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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.

See Examples For:

spectator sport

For years I’ve called the Herndon Climb America’s next great spectator sport.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

Those initiatives had a good foundation to build on since soccer is Canada’s most popular sport in terms of registration and participation and ranks behind only hockey as a spectator sport.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

As a venture investor, Parillo developed a thesis on trading competitions becoming a spectator sport long before he participated in one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

And the league's attempt to turn this into a lucrative spectator sport contradicts the values of many in the Pacific Islander community, Penaia says.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025

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