tournament

[ toor-nuh-muhnt, tur- ]
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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.

  1. History/Historical.

    • 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.

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

Origin of tournament

1
1175–1225; Middle English tornement<Old French torneiement, equivalent to torne(ier) to tourney + -ment-ment

Other words from tournament

  • pre·tour·na·ment, noun

Words Nearby tournament

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How to use tournament in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tournament

tournament

/ (ˈtʊənəmənt, ˈtɔː-, ˈtɜː-) /


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

  1. medieval history

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

    • (later) a meeting for knightly sports and exercises

Origin of tournament

1
C13: from Old French torneiement, from torneier to fight on horseback, literally: to turn, from the constant wheeling round of the combatants; see tourney

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