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.

Experts say if you have bought a device that lets you stream sports or paid content free of charge, there’s a good chance it’s infected.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

This means scramblers or quadbikes will only be used for agricultural purposes and for controlled licenced sports events.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Coinbase has made sports a central focus of its prediction market strategy, prompting users to “trade the madness” as the college basketball tournament got under way this month.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

The company sold its sports marketing division, 160over90, to the French communications company, Publicis Groupe.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

Then Mr. Thomas woke up and wanted to check some sports scores.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

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