1
: an area in a Roman amphitheater for gladiatorial combats
2
a
: an enclosed area used for public entertainment
b
: a building containing an arena
3
a
: a sphere of interest, activity, or competition
the political arena
b
: a place or situation for controversy
in the public arena
Examples of arena in a Sentence
Congress became an arena of opposing views.
the toughest political arena in the world
The economic arena has been dominated by that country.
Recent Examples on the Web
The artist, whose name is Luis Alfonso Palacios II, wore brown cowboy boots made with Amazonian fish leather while astride a horse at a 150-acre, 125-year-old ranch and rodeo arena in Lebanon, Tennessee.
—
Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
The issue is particularly acute in the business arena, where hospitals, banks, retailers and government agencies have a burning need for a seamless identity verification process that detects fraud without making life difficult for genuine customers.
—Atal Bansal, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella Laufey will be touring large arenas in support of the new album—further evidence of her growing popularity—including two nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
—David Chiu, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Historically, Vienna was home to Beethoven and scores of European composers, and come 2026, musicians and singers will perform their Eurovision numbers in the city’s Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest indoor arena.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arena
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Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
The issue is particularly acute in the business arena, where hospitals, banks, retailers and government agencies have a burning need for a seamless identity verification process that detects fraud without making life difficult for genuine customers.
—Atal Bansal, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella Laufey will be touring large arenas in support of the new album—further evidence of her growing popularity—including two nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
—David Chiu, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Historically, Vienna was home to Beethoven and scores of European composers, and come 2026, musicians and singers will perform their Eurovision numbers in the city’s Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest indoor arena.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arena
Cite this Entry
“Arena.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arena. Accessed 2 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
arena
noun
are·na
ə-ˈrē-nə 
1
: an enclosed area used for public entertainment
2
: a building containing an arena
3
: a field of activity
the political arena
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