What does "sport" mean?
Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
Sport
/spɔːt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
- Grammar: sport is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: play, abandon, acrobatics, action.
- Useful contrasts: conceal, duty, earnestness.
- Usage evidence: The doctor advised me to take up some sport to stay in shape.
How to use "sport"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sport" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sport" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sport" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sport" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sport" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "play" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sport", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics. countable, uncountable
"Basketball is her favorite sport, and she also enjoys various other sports as well."
- 2 the occupation of athletes who compete for pay wordnet
- 3 A person who exhibits either good or bad sportsmanship. countable
"Jen may have won, but she was sure a poor sport; she laughed at the loser."
- 4 an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition wordnet
- 5 Somebody who behaves or reacts in an admirably good-natured manner, e.g. to being teased or to losing a game; a good sport. countable
"You're such a sport! You never get upset when we tease you."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 verbal wit or mockery (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously) wordnet
- 7 Something fun, pastime; amusement. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Think it but a minute spent in sport."
- 8 (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration wordnet
- 9 Mockery, making fun; derision. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Why then make ſport at me, then let me be your ieſt"
- 10 someone who engages in sports wordnet
- 11 A toy; a plaything; an object of mockery. countable
"flitting leaves, the sport of every wind"
- 12 a person known for the way they behave when teased or defeated or subjected to trying circumstances wordnet
- 13 Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, or fishing. uncountable
- 14 (Maine colloquial) a temporary summer resident of Maine wordnet
- 15 A plant or an animal, or part of a plant or animal, which has some peculiarity not usually seen in the species; an abnormal variety or growth. The term encompasses both mutants and organisms with non-genetic developmental abnormalities such as birth defects. countable
"We never shot another like it, so I do not know if it was a `sport' or a distinct species."
- 16 A sportsman; a gambler. countable, slang
"See my dressed like all the sports/In my blazer and a pair of shorts."
- 17 One who consorts with disreputable people, including prostitutes. countable, slang
- 18 An amorous dalliance. obsolete, uncountable
- 19 A friend or acquaintance (chiefly used when speaking to the friend in question) countable, informal, singular, uncountable, usually
""Say, sport!" he would say briskly."
- 20 Term of endearment used by an adult for a child, usually a boy. countable, uncountable
"Hey, sport! You've gotten so big since I saw you last! Give me five."
- 21 Play; idle jingle. archaic, countable, uncountable
"1725-1726, William Broome, The Odyssey An author who should introduce such a sport of words upon our stage […] would meet with small applause."
Verb
- 1 To amuse oneself, to play. intransitive
"children sporting on the green"
- 2 play boisterously wordnet
- 3 To mock or tease, treat lightly, toy with. intransitive
"Jen sports with Bill's emotions."
- 4 wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner wordnet
- 5 To display; to have as a notable feature. transitive
"Jen's sporting a new pair of shoes; he was sporting a new wound from the combat"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To divert; to amuse; to make merry. reflexive
"Against whom do ye sport yourselves?"
- 7 To represent by any kind of play. transitive
"Now sporting on thy lyre the loves of youth."
- 8 To practise the diversions of the field or the turf; to be given to betting, as upon races.
- 9 To assume suddenly a new and different character from the rest of the plant or from the type of the species; said of a bud, shoot, plant, or animal.
"more than one kind of rose has sported into a moss"
- 10 To close (a door). archaic, transitive
"There he locked it up in a drawer, sported the doors of both sets of rooms, and retired to bed."
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Strategic Partnership On REACH Testing. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
Antonyms
Example
"The doctor advised me to take up some sport to stay in shape."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sport"?
Common synonyms include: play, abandon, acrobatics, action, adventurer, advertise.
How do you use "sport" in a sentence?
The doctor advised me to take up some sport to stay in shape.
How do you pronounce "sport"?
Pronounced /spɔːt/.
Etymology
From Middle English sporten (“to divert, disport”, verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun), from Old French desporter (“to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement”), etymologically meaning "to carry away (the mind from serious matters)," from des- + porter, from Latin dis- + Latin portāre, ultimately from Latin deportāre, from de- + portāre, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to lead, pass over”)). Replaced native English laik, lake (“sport, fun, amusement”), and Middle English spile, spyl (“fun, sport, play”). More at disport. Doublet of disport and deport.