sports

[ spawrts, spohrts ]

/ spɔrts, spoʊrts /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sports ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Also sport.

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.

Nearby words

sporting house, sporting lady, sportingly, sportive, sportively, sports, sports bar, sports bra, sports cap, sports car, sports coat

Origin of sports

First recorded in 1910–15; sport + -s³

Definition for sports (2 of 2)

sport

[ spawrt, spohrt ]

/ spɔrt, spoʊrt /

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).

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 sports

Local life in these places is not defined by their sports team or by their natural beauty—by things only available locally.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ramos was a fervent Mets fan and he would often talk to the students about sports.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many of the women arrived in the United States as part of sports and religious delegations.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism|Louise I. Shelley|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His constant worship of his wife stands in stark contrast to scandals of the domestic nature in other sports.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

[Sports Illustrated] is an amazing experience, and everyone there is the best team to work with.
Anastasia Ashley, Surfer-Cum-Model, Rides The Viral Internet Wave|James Joiner|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mr Riddell knows very little about sports, though I do hear he was seen coxing a schoolhouse boat this morning.
The Willoughby Captains|Talbot Baines Reed
Mr. Gurney was a patron of the Turf and a genuine lover of old English sports, but he was never known to bet.
Norfolk Annals|Charles Mackie
Because, as I understand it, we should play for the sports sake, not so much to win every time.
The Girls of Central High|Gertrude W. Morrison
Kids can participate in a program of sports, hulas, arts and crafts.
Oahu Traveler's guide|Bill Gleasner
Fanny was what the children called a "tomboy," and always preferred the boys' sports, the more daring the better.
The Life of Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson|Nellie van De Grift Sanchez

British Dictionary definitions for sports (1 of 2)

sports

/ (spɔːts) /

noun

(modifier) relating to, concerned with, or used in sportssports equipment

(modifier) relating to or similar to a sports carsports seats

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

British Dictionary definitions for sports (2 of 2)

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 sports (1 of 3)

sports

atheltic games and contests, by 1660s, from sport (n.). Meaning "sports section of a newspaper" is 1913. Sports fan attested from 1921. Sportswear is from 1912. Sports car attested by 1914; so called for its speed and power:

I have just returned from the south of France, passing through Lyons, where I visited the [Berliet] works with my car, and was shown the new model 25 h.p. "sports" car, and was so impressed with this that I immediately ordered one on my return to London. [letter in "The Autocar," Jan. 7, 1914]

Word Origin and History for sports (1 of 3)

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.

Word Origin and History for sports (2 of 3)

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.

sports

adjective Also sport.

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Origin of sports

Definition for sports (2 of 2)

sport