sports drink
noun
: a drink that consists mainly of water, electrolytes (such as sodium or potassium), and carbohydrates (such as sucrose or fructose) and that is designed to replenish those substances in the body during or after usually strenuous exercise
"Dan was with me the whole day," Huard said after the game, while sipping a sports drink to combat dehydration.—
Peter King
Peter KingSports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade should generally be avoided in favor of water unless you're doing an intense workout. That's because some sports drinks contain more than 30 grams of added sugar …, and you may not need its carb- and electrolyte-heavy fuel if you're just going for a 45-minute easy ride.—Danielle Zickl
Danielle ZicklExamples of sports drink in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Players drink Monster energy drinks instead of sports drinks.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
An influx of competitors in the sports drink category, as well as other health and wellness drink products, and inflation have made decisions tough for consumers.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
The slight drop shows how fragmented the category has become, since hydration is no longer exclusive to traditional sports drinks, said Howard Telford, who leads soft drinks research at Euromonitor.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026
Jack Doggett, a food and drink analyst with the consulting firm Mintel, said his research indicates 60% of consumers who buy sports drinks aren’t athletes but want the functional ingredients those drinks provide, like electrolytes for hydration and carbohydrates for energy.
—ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sports drink
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Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
An influx of competitors in the sports drink category, as well as other health and wellness drink products, and inflation have made decisions tough for consumers.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
The slight drop shows how fragmented the category has become, since hydration is no longer exclusive to traditional sports drinks, said Howard Telford, who leads soft drinks research at Euromonitor.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026
Jack Doggett, a food and drink analyst with the consulting firm Mintel, said his research indicates 60% of consumers who buy sports drinks aren’t athletes but want the functional ingredients those drinks provide, like electrolytes for hydration and carbohydrates for energy.
—ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sports drink
Cite this Entry
“Sports drink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sports%20drink. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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