sport

[ spawrt, spohrt ]

/ spɔrt, spoʊrt /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sport ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.

sports, (used with a singular verb) such athletic activities collectively: Sports is important in my life.

diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.

jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.

mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.

an object of derision; laughingstock.

something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.

something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.

a sportsman.

Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person: He was a sport and took his defeat well.

Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.

Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.

Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.

Obsolete. amorous dalliance.

adjective Also sports.

of, relating to, or used in sports or a particular sport:sport fishing.

suitable for outdoor or informal wear: sport clothes.

verb (used without object)

to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.

to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.

to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.

to trifle or treat lightly: to sport with another's emotions.

to mock, scoff, or tease: to sport at suburban life.

Botany. to mutate.

verb (used with object)

to pass (time) in amusement or sport.

to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often followed by away).

Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., especially with ostentation; show off: to sport a new mink coat.

Archaic. to amuse (especially oneself).

Nearby words

Idioms

sport one's oak. oak(def 5).

Origin of sport

1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of disport

SYNONYMS FOR sport

1. game. 4. amusement, fun, entertainment. See play. 19. romp, caper. 21. toy.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sport ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

sport·ful, adjectivesport·ful·ly, adverbsport·ful·ness, nounsport·less, adjective

out·sport, verb (used with object)un·sport·ed, adjectiveun·sport·ful, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sport

Cricket is a sport enjoyed by hundreds of millions around the globe, mainly in former British colonies.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When he reaches a low point in his career, in 1997, he writes that he “even contemplated moving away from the sport completely.”
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sachin Tendulkar may be one of the most brilliant players in the sport, but he struggles to liven up his memoirs.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sport of surfing is a very sexy sport, beautiful people on beautiful beaches in minimal clothing.
Anastasia Ashley, Surfer-Cum-Model, Rides The Viral Internet Wave|James Joiner|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Like I said, as a team we drew attention to the sport in a way no one ever has.
Tim Howard’s Wall of Intensity|William O’Connor|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This sport may be carried on from the 24th of July till October, from the rising to the setting of the sun.
The Natural History of Cage Birds|J. M. Bechstein
But tandem driving is too good a sport to be confined to the show ring.
Riding and Driving|Edward L. Anderson
Our day's sport, besides the monkey, was confined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans.
A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World|Charles Darwin
The three friends agreed, in sport, that they would each one day commit to writing his peculiar interpretation of its design.
The Broken Cup|Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke
It seemed to her she was being flicked in sport with tickling switches.
The Song of Songs|Hermann Sudermann

British Dictionary definitions for sport

sport

/ (spɔːt) /

noun

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

such activities considered collectively

any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure

the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishingwe had good sport today

playful or good-humoured jokingto say a thing in sport

derisive mockery or the object of such mockeryto make sport of someone

someone or something that is controlled by external influencesthe sport of fate

informal (sometimes qualified by good, bad, etc) a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser

informal a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game

informal a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gamblerhe's a bit of a sport

Australian and NZ informal a form of address used esp between males

biology

an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation
an anomalous characteristic of such an organism

verb

(tr) informal to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud mannershe was sporting a new hat

(intr) to skip about or frolic happily

to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation

(intr often foll by with) to dally or trifle (with)

(tr often foll by away) rare to squander (time or money)sporting one's life away

(intr often foll by with) archaic to make fun (of)

(intr) biology to produce or undergo a mutation

Word Origin for sport

C15 sporten, variant of disporten to disport

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

Word Origin and History for sport

sport

c.1400, "to take pleasure, to amuse oneself," from Anglo-French disport, Old French desport "pastime, recreation, pleasure," from desporter "to divert, amuse, please, play" (see disport). Sense of "to amuse oneself by active exercise in open air or taking part in some game" is from late 15c. Meaning "to wear" is from 1778. Related: Sported; sporting.

sport

mid-15c., "pleasant pastime," from sport (v.). Meaning "game involving physical exercise" first recorded 1520s. Original sense preserved in phrases such as in sport "in jest" (mid-15c.). Sense of "stylish man" is from 1861, American English, probably because they lived by gambling and betting on races. Meaning "good fellow" is attested from 1881 (e.g. be a sport, 1913). Sport as a familiar form of address to a man is from 1935, Australian English. The sport of kings was originally (1660s) war-making.

sport

noun

adjective Also sports.

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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sport

noun

verb

Word Origin for sport

sport

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