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.

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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

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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

Four games still remain for the Trojans to build their case before the Big Ten tournament.

From Los Angeles Times

Canada, who were mired in a cheating controversy earlier in the tournament, beat Great Britain 9-6 in a tense final to win Olympic men's curling gold for the fourth time on Saturday.

From Barron's

Sunday's final will see tournament favourites Canada and the USA face off for gold on the ice in Milan.

From Barron's

A formidable finale to their tournament, but at least they're alive and not without hope of achieving something tangible.

From BBC

Having only started two games since November before the tournament because of injury, England's talisman is still getting up to speed.

From BBC

Related Words

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