tennis

American  

[ten-is] / ˈtɛn ɪs /

noun

1. a game played on a rectangular court by two players or two pairs of players equipped with rackets, in which a ball is driven back and forth over a low net that divides the court in half.

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tennis British  

/ ˈtɛnɪs /

noun

1. 1. a racket game played between two players or pairs of players who hit a ball to and fro over a net on a rectangular court of grass, asphalt, clay, etc See also lawn tennis real tennis court tennis table tennis

   2. ( as modifier )

      tennis court

      tennis racket

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Etymology

Origin of tennis

1350–1400; Middle English tenetz, ten ( e ) ys < Anglo-French: take!, imperative plural of tenir to hold, take, receive, apparently used as a server's call

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Explanation

Tennis anyone? Tennis is a sport that's played with a small, felt-covered rubber ball and rackets. The basic goal in tennis is hitting the ball across a net. There are two types of tennis: singles, when two individuals face off, and doubles, which involves teams of two players. If you can hit a tennis ball with a racket, you can play tennis. Historians believe that tennis grew out of a 12th century French game called la paulme, "the palm," in which players hit a ball with their hands. The word tennis comes from the Anglo-French tenetz, "Hold! Take! Receive!" which players called out before serving.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tennis

Johnston’s instruction of Puyi stretched well beyond academic subjects; he also introduced the emperor to bicycle-riding, photography, tennis and the films of Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

The tennis legend - a boyhood Real fan who holds member's number 67,778 - included a photo of himself as a child in a club kit in his response to the news.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

"I wanted to see and then hear a new vision of what tennis in their mind looks like - and how my tennis, in their mind, looks like," Zverev explained.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

I took a pass on it and instead played on the frosh-soph basketball team and lettered in tennis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

All morning they scanned the ocean around them, searching for open water as their floe was whittled down to the size of a tennis court.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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