sports

American

[spawrts, spohrts] / spɔrts, spoʊrts /

adjective

of or relating to a sport or sports, especially of the open-air or athletic kind.

a sports festival.
(of garments, equipment, etc.) suitable for use in open-air sports or for outdoor or informal use.

sports British

/ spɔːts /

noun

(modifier) relating to, concerned with, or used in sports

sports equipment
(modifier) relating to or similar to a sports car

sports seats
Also called: sports day. a meeting held at a school or college for competitions in various athletic events

"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 sports

First recorded in 1910–15; sport + -s ³

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.

Traditional online sports betting remains illegal in 19 states, including California and Texas, while events contracts are legal across the U.S. and regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

From Barron's

A Super Conference will also help fund smaller “Olympic” sports.

From The Wall Street Journal

An arbitrator ends the “reserve clause” that had tethered players to one employer for life, triggering the largest salary gains of any group of employees, anywhere—and changing labor practices in all U.S. sports.

From The Wall Street Journal

After answering a final question, Iamaleava glanced at a bottle of orange sports drink in front of him on a table.

From Los Angeles Times

“You have to win. You have to give them something. And when you do, there’s no sports town better.”

From Los Angeles Times

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