sportsmanship
Americannoun
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the character, practice, or skill of a sportsman.
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sportsmanlike conduct, as fairness, courtesy, being a cheerful loser, etc.
Etymology
Origin of sportsmanship
Explanation
Sportsmanship is a type of fairness expected of athletes. If you never cheat or act rude while playing a game, you are modeling good sportsmanship. Sportsmanship has to do with how people play games, not if they win or lose games. You could win and have terrible sportsmanship if you cheated, yelled at the referees, or refused to shake hands after the game. Sportsmanship has to do with fairness and manners; both winners and losers can be good or bad sportsmen. Women show sportsmanship too, of course. If you have good sportsmanship, you respect the game, your teammates, the other team, and the fans too.
Vocabulary lists containing sportsmanship
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Father's Day Words
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Physical Education - Introductory
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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.
Critics dinged the Argentine squad for poor sportsmanship in the wake of the loss.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
In the National Association of Sports Officials’ most recent survey of sports officials, 68.8% of more than 35,000 respondents said sportsmanship is getting worse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
This tournament is less about sportsmanship and athletic excellence than about pushing crappy beer and extortionate credit cards?
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
“This is about the integrity of sport and code of ethics that upholds sportsmanship, fair play, integrity, respect and community,” Uhlaender said in a post on X.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
A sign of sportsmanship and, thank goodness, a sign we were done.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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.
