sportsman

noun

sports·​man ˈspȯrts-mən 

1

: a person who engages in sports (such as hunting or fishing)

2

: a person who shows sportsmanship

sportsmanlike

ˈspȯrts-mən-ˌlīk 

adjective

sportsmanly

ˈspȯrts-mən-lē 

adjective

Examples of sportsman in a Sentence

He was a keen sportsman all his life.

Recent Examples on the Web

Without allowing time to properly identify and vet lands set for disposal, critical access for sportsmen and women may be lost. —Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025

During this training, like a true sportsman, the robot also got to know its physical limits and to work around them. —ArsTechnica, 11 June 2025

Football star Jalen Hurts won sportsman of the year for the second time in three years. —Paul Grein, Billboard, 10 June 2025

Unusually for a Victorian sportsman, Wingfield marketed his game equally to men and women, and the fad spread rapidly through the gardens of England and beyond. —Sam Knight, New Yorker, 12 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sportsman

• sportsmen

Kids Definition

sportsman

noun

sports·​man ˈspō(ə)rt-smən 

ˈspȯ(ə)rt-

1

: a person who engages in or is interested in sports and especially outdoor sports

2

: sport entry 2 sense 3

sportsmanlike

-ˌlīk 

adjective

sportsmanly

-lē 

adjective