tournament

noun

tour·​na·​ment
ˈtu̇r-nə-mənt,
 also  ˈtər-,
or
ˈtȯr- How to pronounce tournament (audio)
1
: a series of games or contests that make up a single unit of competition (as on a professional golf tour), the championship playoffs of a league or conference, or an invitational event
2
a
: a knightly sport of the Middle Ages between mounted combatants armed with blunted lances or swords and divided into two parties contesting for a prize or favor bestowed by the lady of the tournament
b
: the whole series of knightly sports, jousts, and tilts occurring at one time and place

Examples of tournament in a Sentence

She's an excellent tennis player who has won many tournaments. a golf tournament in which professionals compete against amateurs
Recent Examples on the Web The top six teams in each conference will secure automatic playoff berths while the next four teams will have to fight their way in through the play-in tournament. Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2024 Monterey, as with Chatsworth, came back to reach the state final after losing in its section tournament. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 The tournament is played bracket-style, with 68 teams competing in six single-elimination rounds. Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 The Marlins stadium has hosted multiple international baseball tournaments including the wildly popular Serie del Caribe. Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 The 21-year-old missed much of 2023 after operations on both wrists and an ankle, but returned to the court this year where she’s won just three matches in four tournaments. Ben Church, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 Clark’s 72-hole score of 265 was the lowest in the tournament’s history, edging Rory McIlroy’s 267 in 2015. Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2024 Coach of the week: Utah’s Craig Smith The Utes closed out their home season with blowout wins over the Bay Area teams to remain in contention for both a top-four seed in the Pac-12 tournament and an at-large berth in the NCAAs. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 The score was the second in as many games for Morgan, who entered the tournament having gone 363 minutes without an international goal. Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tournament.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tornement, from Anglo-French turneiement, from turneier

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of tournament was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near tournament

Cite this Entry

“Tournament.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tournament. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tournament

noun
tour·​na·​ment ˈtu̇r-nə-mənt How to pronounce tournament (audio)
 also  ˈtər-,
 or  ˈtȯr-
1
: a contest of skill and courage between knights wearing armor and fighting with blunted lances or swords
2
: a contest or series of contests played for a championship

More from Merriam-Webster on tournament

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