obstacle course

noun

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: obstacle course in a Sentence

Definition of obstacle course

: a military training course filled with obstacles (such as hurdles, fences, walls, and ditches) that must be negotiated; broadly : a series of obstacles that must be overcome

See obstacle course defined for English-language learners

Examples of obstacle course in a Sentence

We finally made it through the bureaucratic obstacle course and got our visas.

Recent Examples of obstacle course from the Web

The ruckus has a public obstacle course where fans can drive their own off-road vehicles on, plus Monster Truck exhibitions and various promotional giveaways.

— drew davison, star-telegram, "More than just races: TMS thinks outside the box, so why not A&M-Texas football?," 5 June 2018
Now that they're dressed in their finest, the group takes off to...a wedding-themed obstacle course.

— anna moeslein, Glamour, "'The Bachelorette' Season 14 Episode 2 Recap: So Many Good Arie Luyendyk Jr. Burns," 4 June 2018
And while one date includes her destroying a warehouse full of reminders of her relationship with Arie Luyendyk Jr, another shows the men competing in a wedding-themed obstacle course.

— jodi guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Watch Becca Kufrin's First Dates with Her Bachelorette Men: 'I Want the Ring!'," 30 May 2018
Dixon said with a laugh following his Sunday night appearance on the NBC obstacle course game show, American Ninja Warrior.

— jim ayello, USA TODAY Sports, "IndyCar drivers expect speed, style to remain consistent at Indianapolis 500," 30 Apr. 2018
In a hallway of an engineering building at Stanford University, some devilish researchers have built a sprawling obstacle course.

— matt simon, WIRED, "The Clever Vine-Like Robot That Grows and Steers With Air," 19 Apr. 2018
The women — all students in the university’s forestry program — were formidable, standing on a stump and chopping all the way through, slicing a log with a two-person saw and racing through an obstacle course.

— vanessa hua, San Francisco Chronicle, "What do you want to be when you grow up?," 24 May 2018
On the day Andrade, the retired army sergeant, sought treatment, gurneys left little space in the crowded ward and hospital corridors, creating an obstacle course for nurses and doctors who shouted orders, handed out forms and began examinations.

— chris kraul, latimes.com, "Hungry, sick and increasingly desperate, thousands of Venezuelans are pouring into Colombia," 13 May 2018
Activities include face paint, obstacle course and craft.

— luann gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Easter egg hunts in Cincinnati this weekend," 29 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'obstacle course.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of obstacle course

1942

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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OBSTACLE COURSE Defined for English Language Learners

obstacle course

noun

Definition of obstacle course for English Language Learners

: a series of objects that people or animals in a race have to jump or climb over, go around, go under, etc.
: a training area for soldiers that is filled with objects (such as hurdles, ditches, walls, etc.) that the soldiers have to jump or climb over, go around, go under, etc.
: a series of problems, events, or requirements that make it difficult to do something