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

Sports 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

Examples of sports drink in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The news agency, citing sources, reported that the devices were made of a sports drink bottle that was filled or partially filled with explosive material and placed inside glass jars and surrounded by nuts and bolts. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026

For example, during a sweltering hot weekend at a sports tournament, my Yeti hard cooler kept water and sports drinks cold the entire weekend with just a single filling of ice. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026

Gatorade launches Lower Sugar line of drinks This week, Gatorade announced a new sports drink lineup with no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors, and with 75% less sugar than the brand's Thirst Quencher electrolyte drinks. —Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 5 Mar. 2026

Water, sports drinks, coffee and tea also saw stronger demand, while juices and dairy products faltered. —Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sports drink

• bethink
• downlink
• groupthink
• hoodwink
• rethink
• uplink
• blink
• brink
• chink
• cinque
• clink
• dink