arena

noun

are·​na ə-ˈrē-nə 

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

Synonyms of arena

• auditorium
• amphitheater

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

There will be cheek swabbing stations on-site in the arena for fans to join the national registry. —Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025

The Heated Rivalry crew filmed most of their hockey-centric scenes in this arena towards the end of production, at the same location the cast shot much of their marketing photos and videos that are now going around TikTok. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Dec. 2025

Attendance ranked in the bottom five measured by percentage of the arena capacity filled. —Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 19 Dec. 2025

The singer wrapped her first North American headlining arena tour in September. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin harena, arena sand, sandy place

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing arena

• arena football
• arena theater

Rhymes for arena

• athena
• cantina
• carina
• carmina
• catena
• czarina
• domina
• equina
• farina
• galena
• glossina
• hyena

Kids 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