tennis

noun

ten·​nis ˈte-nəs How to pronounce tennis (audio)
often attributive
1
: an indoor or outdoor game that is played with rackets and a light elastic ball by two players or pairs of players on a level court (as of clay or grass) divided by a low net
2

Examples of tennis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There’s also a duo of entertaining spaces—one a pool house boasting a spacious dining area, a caterer’s kitchen, a cigar lounge, and two barbecue areas, and the other a sports pavilion with an entertaining space overlooking basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts. Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2024 This year the club was also graced with the presence of stars including Katy Perry, Rita Ora, Jason Statham, Naomi Campbell, Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz and many others, the club reports. Katie Bain, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2024 Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 23 grand slam titles are an Open Era record and one shy of the all-time record held by Margaret Court. Matias Grez, CNN, 17 Oct. 2024 The 23-time Grand Slam title winner in singles competition has been enjoying life since retiring from tennis in 2022. Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tennis 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tennis.' 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 tenetz, tenys, perhaps borrowed from Anglo-French tenez, 2nd person plural imperative of tenir "to hold" — more at tenant entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of tennis was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near tennis

Cite this Entry

“Tennis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tennis. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

tennis

noun
ten·​nis ˈten-əs How to pronounce tennis (audio)
: a game played with rackets and a light elastic ball by two players or two pairs of players on a level court divided by a low net

More from Merriam-Webster on tennis

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