sport

[ spawrt ]

noun

1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

   Synonyms: game

2. a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
3. sports, (used with a singular verb) such athletic activities collectively:

   Sports is important in my life.

4. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.

   Synonyms: entertainment, fun, amusement

5. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry:

   What he said in sport was taken seriously.

6. mockery; ridicule; derision:

   They made sport of him.

7. an object of derision; laughingstock.
8. something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
9. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
10. a sportsman.
11. Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person:

    He was a sport and took his defeat well.

12. Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.
13. Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.
14. Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.
15. Obsolete. amorous dalliance.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in sports or a particular sport:

   sport fishing.

2. suitable for outdoor or informal wear:

   sport clothes.

verb (used without object)

1. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
2. to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.

   Synonyms: caper, romp

3. to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
4. to trifle or treat lightly:

   to sport with another's emotions.

   Synonyms: toy

5. to mock, scoff, or tease:

   to sport at suburban life.

6. Biology. mutate ( def 4 ).

verb (used with object)

1. to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
2. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often followed by away ).
3. Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., especially with ostentation:

   Celebs are frequently seen sporting a wide array of designer handbags.

4. Archaic. to amuse (especially oneself ).

sport

/ spɔːt /

noun

1. an individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game such as football, tennis, etc
2. such activities considered collectively
3. any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure
4. the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishing

   we had good sport today

5. playful or good-humoured joking

   to say a thing in sport

6. derisive mockery or the object of such mockery

   to make sport of someone

7. someone or something that is controlled by external influences

   the sport of fate

8. informal.
   sometimes qualified bygood, bad, etc a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser
9. informal.
   a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game
10. informal.
    a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gambler

    he's a bit of a sport

11. informal.
    a form of address used esp between males
12. biology
    1. an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation
    2. an anomalous characteristic of such an organism

verb

1. informal.
   tr to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner

   she was sporting a new hat

2. intr to skip about or frolic happily
3. to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation
4. introften foll bywith to dally or trifle (with)
5. rare.
   troften foll byaway to squander (time or money)

   sporting one's life away

6. archaic.
   introften foll bywith to make fun (of)
7. intr biology to produce or undergo a mutation

Derived Forms

• ˈsportful, adjective
• ˈsporter, noun
• ˈsportfulness, noun
• ˈsportfully, adverb

Other Words From

• sport·ful adjective
• sport·ful·ly adverb
• sport·ful·ness noun
• sport·less adjective
• out·sport verb (used with object)
• un·sport·ed adjective
• un·sport·ful adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sport¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of disport none

Word History and Origins

Origin of sport¹

C15 sporten, variant of disporten to disport

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. sport one's oak. oak ( def 5 ).

Synonym Study

See play none.

Example Sentences

According to 67% of those surveyed, playing sports even leads to better grades in school.

From Science Daily

But I think now it continues to evolve around things that are really just a part of our sport.

From Los Angeles Times

Adams describes acting as a “side hustle more than a lifestyle,” preferring sports to the stage.

From Los Angeles Times

But never before has one player during one season dominated the sport, transformed the town, awed the world and brought home a championship.

From Los Angeles Times

She says the “big idea” came from parents who wanted something to give them a real flavour of the school, such as how important sport was or the approach to discipline.

From BBC

Related Words

• athletics
• fun
• game
• pastime