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Synonyms

tournament

American  
[toor-nuh-muhnt, tur-] / ˈtʊər nə mənt, ˈtɜr- /

noun

  1. a trial of skill in some game, in which competitors play a series of contests.

    a chess tournament.

  2. a meeting for contests in a variety of sports, as between teams of different nations.

  3. History/Historical.

    1. a contest or martial sport in which two opposing parties of mounted and armored combatants fought for a prize, with blunted weapons and in accordance with certain rules.

    2. a meeting at an appointed time and place for the performance of knightly exercises and sports.


tournament British  
/ ˈtɜː-, ˈtʊənəmənt, ˈtɔː- /

noun

  1. a sporting competition in which contestants play a series of games to determine an overall winner

  2. a meeting for athletic or other sporting contestants

    an archery tournament

  3. medieval history

    1. (originally) a martial sport or contest in which mounted combatants fought for a prize

    2. (later) a meeting for knightly sports and exercises

"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

Other Word Forms

  • pretournament noun

Etymology

Origin of tournament

1175–1225; Middle English tornement < Old French torneiement, equivalent to torne ( ier ) to tourney + -ment -ment

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.

Signature events are not major tournaments; instead they are premium, money-heavy events like the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

From MarketWatch

But they have already banked big money and returning to a deeper competitive pool and routinely bigger tournaments may be a tempting prospect.

From BBC

The tournament was played after a long season, with players thinking about holidays and others knowing they would not be there the following year.

From BBC

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen won five frames in a row as he came from behind to defeat Wales' Mark Williams 6-2 in the first round of the Masters - despite suffering from illness before the tournament.

From BBC

It was his second tournament victory in three months after his first title in two years came at Kazakhstan in October,

From Barron's