tourney
Americannoun
plural
tourneysverb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- tourneyer noun
Etymology
Origin of tourney
1300–50; (v.) Middle English tourneyen < Old French torneier < Vulgar Latin *tornidiāre to wheel, keep turning; (noun) Middle English tourneie < Old French tournei, derivative of tourneier. See turn
Explanation
A tourney is a tournament: a sporting event that consists of a series of games that result in a champion. Tourney is an informal word for a tournament. A tourney is a series of games with a bunch of different teams or individuals. Tennis events like Wimbledon are tourneys. The playoffs for the NBA, NFL, and NHL are tourneys. In a tourney, you have to beat more than one team to become the champion or overall winner, and there are different rounds in which you face different opponents. A single sporting event — like a boxing match — is not a tourney.
Vocabulary lists containing tourney
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 11
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The Ruins of Gorlan
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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.
However, this tourney attracts lords and knights from great houses throughout Westeros, including a couple whose families figure prominently in “Game of Thrones.”
From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026
Kang Ae-sim and Yang Dong-geun portray an elderly woman and her failson who enter the tourney to erase his mountainous debt.
From Salon • Dec. 26, 2024
The only other times the Blue Devils had three-game streaks like that in tourney were in 2010 and 2015 — their last two national championships.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 31, 2024
Realize that despite all the legend and lore and heart-stirring music, this tourney filled with Davids is ultimately a grab for Goliath.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2024
"I don't care about their stupid tourney," Arya said.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
