tournament

[ toor-nuh-muhnt, tur- ]

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

/ 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

Other Words From

• pre·tourna·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tournament¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tournament¹

C13: from Old French torneiement, from torneier to fight on horseback, literally: to turn, from the constant wheeling round of the combatants; see tourney

Example Sentences

Heading into EVO USA, Ash lost his passport, which forced him to miss a local tournament.

From Ozy

PSG has allowed the fewest goals in the tournament so far, but that was with Navas in goal for the majority of the time.

From FiveThirtyEight

With so many users, there are many different games and tournaments, and there are significant stakes.

From Freakonomics

The tournament was hosted and won by, you guessed it, England.

From Ozy

At this point, many solvers recognized this meant you were guaranteed to win the tournament eventually, as the probability of drawing infinitely many games was vanishingly small.

From FiveThirtyEight

In 2006, Wahlberg participated in the Los Angeles Police-Celebrity Golf Tournament, an annual fundraiser.

From The Daily Beast

The tournament itself is like the second season of a reality show.

From The Daily Beast

Collins said that most of her knowledge is from “here and there,” so there was no need to cram before the tournament.

From The Daily Beast

A photo of the most recent professional tournament showed a fully male, predominantly white, t-shirt and cargo-shorts-clad top 8.

From The Daily Beast

Jody Hice—Choosing Hice is like picking Duke or UConn in the NCAA basketball tournament.

From The Daily Beast

She demands the golden ewer—the red horse comes to his aid, and he wins the tournament in his red dress.

From Project Gutenberg

Horses and dresses are found in the insular forms, but, so far, I have not found a single instance of the tournament.

From Project Gutenberg

Form of imprisonment varies, but the ‘rescue’ is most generally found in company with the tournament.

From Project Gutenberg

Here the conflict generally lasts three days, the three disguises are employed, and the tournament is often absent.

From Project Gutenberg

Yes, we have to don a coat of mail in the tournament in which we are going to take part; we require armor.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• contest
• event
• fight
• match
• meeting
• series
• sport
• test
• tourney