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.

The FCC Media Bureau recently launched an inquiry into competition from streaming giants for sports broadcast rights.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s no coincidence that both events are in partnership with Fanatics, the outfit that has grown from designing and manufacturing licensed fan gear into a ubiquitous global digital sports platform and e-commerce company.

From Los Angeles Times

The former sports reporter, now running for retiring Democrat Tina Smith’s U.S.

From MarketWatch

A French officer has reportedly revealed the location of an aircraft carrier deployed towards the Middle East after publicly registering a run on sports app Strava.

From BBC

Cameo is most commonly used by celebrities and sports people to provide personalised messages to fans for a fee.

From BBC

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