sport
Americannoun
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sports
plural
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an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
- Synonyms:
- game
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a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
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(used with a singular verb) sports, such athletic activities collectively.
Sports is important in my life.
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diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
- Synonyms:
- entertainment, fun, amusement
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jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry.
What he said in sport was taken seriously.
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mockery; ridicule; derision.
They made sport of him.
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an object of derision; laughingstock.
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something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
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something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
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a sportsman.
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Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person.
He was a sport and took his defeat well.
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Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.
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Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.
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Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.
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Obsolete. amorous dalliance.
adjective
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of, relating to, or used in sports or a particular sport.
sport fishing.
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suitable for outdoor or informal wear.
sport clothes.
verb (used without object)
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sports,
present (3rd person singular)
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sported,
past participle, past
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sporting
present participle
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to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
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to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.
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to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
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to trifle or treat lightly.
to sport with another's emotions.
- Synonyms:
- toy
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to mock, scoff, or tease.
to sport at suburban life.
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Biology. mutate.
verb (used with object)
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sports,
present (3rd person singular)
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sported,
past participle, past
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sporting
present participle
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to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
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to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often followed byaway ).
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Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., especially with ostentation.
Celebs are frequently seen sporting a wide array of designer handbags.
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Archaic. to amuse (especially oneself ).
idioms
noun
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an individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game such as football, tennis, etc
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such activities considered collectively
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any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure
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the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishing
we had good sport today
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playful or good-humoured joking
to say a thing in sport
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derisive mockery or the object of such mockery
to make sport of someone
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someone or something that is controlled by external influences
the sport of fate
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informal a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser
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informal a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game
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informal a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gambler
he's a bit of a sport
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informal a form of address used esp between males
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biology
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an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation
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an anomalous characteristic of such an organism
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verb
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informal (tr) to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner
she was sporting a new hat
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(intr) to skip about or frolic happily
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to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation
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to dally or trifle (with)
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rare to squander (time or money)
sporting one's life away
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archaic to make fun (of)
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(intr) biology to produce or undergo a mutation
Synonym Usage
See play .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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sporternoun
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sportfulnessnoun
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outsportverb (used with object)
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sportfuladjective
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sportlessadjective
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unsportedadjective
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unsportfuladjective
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sportfullyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sportsimple
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sportssimple
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have sportedperfect
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has sportedperfect
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am sportingprogressive
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are sportingprogressive
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is sportingprogressive
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have been sportingperfect progressive
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has been sportingperfect progressive
Past
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sportedsimple
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had sportedperfect
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was sportingprogressive
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were sportingprogressive
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had been sportingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sport
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of disport
Explanation
Sport has many definitions, the most familiar of which is a game involving physical exertion — think tennis or hockey. Randomly, sport can also mean to wear, as in, "he looked sharp sporting a yellow sport coat." Most of the definitions of sport involve the idea of fun, or of something being fair. Hopefully organized sports are both. A sporting chance means a player in a game has a fair chance of winning. A good sport is someone who plays fair, and wins and loses graciously. If you torture flies for sport, you do it for fun, and that's just wrong. If you make sport of your little sister's stutter, you make fun of it, and that's even worse.
Vocabulary lists containing sport
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:
But it’s telling that, unless a massively popular sport with a built-in audience is involved, the turnout for a Pitt movie is waning.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
It’s a victory that will change his life, and it has delivered a blast of fresh air for a sport that needed one, writes Jason Gay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Walton competed at a high level in gymnastics after following his sister into the sport, but boxing remained his obsession.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
When the playoffs officially begin on Tuesday, they will feature the most explosive matchup in the sport: Red Sox-Yankees for a best-of-three series in the Bronx.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
It’s the one non-weapon-related sport that I excel in.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
The US Senate approved a landmark federal framework for college sports Monday, voting 72-22 to bring order to a multibillion-dollar industry whose biggest events can draw television audiences comparable to major professional championships.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
It is a daunting challenge for a Nike lifer who became head of its China business this spring—one that carries outsize importance for a sports giant that is struggling globally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
“Ghost tickets,” also known as speculative tickets, are concert and sports tickets that resellers list before they actually have them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
A lot of the sports that you practice, whether that be hog hunting, coyote hunting, or just hunting, they’re associated with firearms.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
I guess I can’t blame Chokecherry for that—this isn’t the only town to give some juvenile delinquent a free pass because he happens to be popular and good at sports.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
According to the official release, both the bride and groom sported Christian Dior Haute Couture, Christian Louboutin shoes, and Cartier jewelry—and neither had a bridal party.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
Some say this bearding trend began with the 1980s television series “Miami Vice,” wherein the actor Don Johnson sported a 5-o’clock shadow that was much commented on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Dressed in svelte black athleisure with a close-cropped haircut, the 28-year-old Lacy was less flamboyant than he’d looked in recent years, when he sported long braids and sunglasses that covered half his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Albanese sported a wide grin as the two leaders briefly paused at the event to take a selfie photo.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
He sported a light beard and a mesh cap with the hardware store name on the front.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
As ticket prices for live events like concerts and sporting games continue to surge, dozens of legislative bills focused on event ticketing issues are emerging throughout the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
She has visited nearly a dozen cities to understand how Nike can seize on China’s booming sporting scene, popping into gyms, where sweaty workouts such as Hyrox are in, and watching local pickup basketball games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Conservation advocates have nevertheless raised concerns about the environmental impact and precedent of staging a major professional sporting event inside a national park.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Against that dystopian backdrop, goofball mechanical athletes may be doing something far more valuable for their creators than outpacing our greatest sporting achievements: They’re making machines relatable.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
But it’s only Agent Magnus, sporting a nasty bruise on his forehead.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
