sport
Americannoun
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sports
plural
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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
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a particular form of this, especially in the out of doors.
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(used with a singular verb) sports, such athletic activities collectively.
Sports is important in my life.
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diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
- Synonyms:
- entertainment, fun, amusement
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jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry.
What he said in sport was taken seriously.
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mockery; ridicule; derision.
They made sport of him.
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an object of derision; laughingstock.
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something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
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something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
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a sportsman.
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Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person.
He was a sport and took his defeat well.
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Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.
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Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.
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Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.
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Obsolete. amorous dalliance.
adjective
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of, relating to, or used in sports or a particular sport.
sport fishing.
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suitable for outdoor or informal wear.
sport clothes.
verb (used without object)
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sports,
present (3rd person singular)
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sported,
past participle, past
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sporting
present participle
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to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
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to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.
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to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
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to trifle or treat lightly.
to sport with another's emotions.
- Synonyms:
- toy
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to mock, scoff, or tease.
to sport at suburban life.
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Biology. mutate.
verb (used with object)
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sports,
present (3rd person singular)
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sported,
past participle, past
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sporting
present participle
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to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
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to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often followed byaway ).
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Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., especially with ostentation.
Celebs are frequently seen sporting a wide array of designer handbags.
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Archaic. to amuse (especially oneself ).
idioms
noun
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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
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such activities considered collectively
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any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure
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the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishing
we had good sport today
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playful or good-humoured joking
to say a thing in sport
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derisive mockery or the object of such mockery
to make sport of someone
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someone or something that is controlled by external influences
the sport of fate
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informal a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser
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informal a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game
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informal a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gambler
he's a bit of a sport
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informal a form of address used esp between males
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biology
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an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation
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an anomalous characteristic of such an organism
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verb
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informal (tr) to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner
she was sporting a new hat
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(intr) to skip about or frolic happily
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to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation
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to dally or trifle (with)
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rare to squander (time or money)
sporting one's life away
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archaic to make fun (of)
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(intr) biology to produce or undergo a mutation
Synonym Usage
See play .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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sporternoun
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sportfulnessnoun
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outsportverb (used with object)
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sportfuladjective
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sportlessadjective
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unsportedadjective
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unsportfuladjective
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sportfullyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sportsimple
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sportssimple
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have sportedperfect
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has sportedperfect
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am sportingprogressive
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are sportingprogressive
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is sportingprogressive
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have been sportingperfect progressive
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has been sportingperfect progressive
Past
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sportedsimple
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had sportedperfect
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was sportingprogressive
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were sportingprogressive
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had been sportingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sport
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of disport
Explanation
Sport has many definitions, the most familiar of which is a game involving physical exertion — think tennis or hockey. Randomly, sport can also mean to wear, as in, "he looked sharp sporting a yellow sport coat." Most of the definitions of sport involve the idea of fun, or of something being fair. Hopefully organized sports are both. A sporting chance means a player in a game has a fair chance of winning. A good sport is someone who plays fair, and wins and loses graciously. If you torture flies for sport, you do it for fun, and that's just wrong. If you make sport of your little sister's stutter, you make fun of it, and that's even worse.
Vocabulary lists containing sport
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.
See Examples For:
Any familiar face from the sport draws attention - but the fans only want to show affection and respect.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
He admitted that as he tried to establish himself in a sport that kept beating him down, he wasn’t always the best husband and father.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The sport not only brings unity to the country - for those who make it to the top, it also offers a chance to cross the globe.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
A former tennis instructor, he treats the sport like a detective treats a case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
His hair is mussed, his necktie is loose, and he’s already shrugging out of his sport coat.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
The two-seater sports car did not have a driver for the demo "to make sure we don't kill anyone," he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Since the family patriarch bought the team, the Forum and the Kings for $67.5 million in 1979, the Lakers have become one of the most valuable brands in sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
A new flying sports car may be exactly what CEO Elon Musk needs to sell Wall Street on a merger between Tesla and SpaceX.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Tesla’s newly unveiled flying sports car, which features SpaceX rocket thrusters, could help Musk push for a merger between his two biggest companies, analysts say,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Bat didn’t like being called “sport” because he didn’t like playing sports or watching sports.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
Yet he noted that some investors have been disappointed by the level of growth sported by ServiceNow and other enterprise software companies, especially relative to the “hockey-stick growth” of other companies in the AI ecosystem.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Jeff Kent sported a mustache throughout his career even though some folks teased him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Swift has worn Dior before, such as the tartan creation above, which she sported at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
While the now-replaced aircraft sported a blue and white exterior, the new aircraft has a navy blue underbelly, thin red stripe and blue upper body.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Rhaegar Frey sported a silky beard and a sardonic smile.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Wardley, sporting Ipswich Town's newly-launched third kit with his name printed on the sleeve, was still bearing the scars of his punishing defeat in Manchester five months ago.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
From a purely sporting point of view, it's easy to see why Domenicali is so chuffed.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The expanded definition would encompass event contracts on sporting, political, cultural and weather-related events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
It’s also sporting a growth story that stands out on Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
A thin boy, wearing a Malcolm X T-shirt and sporting a DIY haircut, sat up from where he’d once been sprawled by a gaping hole in the side of the bus.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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