tennis

noun, often attributive

ten·nis | \ ˈte-nəs

Definition of tennis

1 : an indoor or outdoor game that is played with rackets and a light elastic ball by two players or pairs of players on a level court (as of clay or grass) divided by a low net

2 : court tennis

Examples of tennis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Getty ImagesPaul Kane Serena Williams and Roger Federer, also known as the queen and king of tennis, have 43 Grand Slam titles between them. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Serena Williams and Roger Federer Are Even Bigger Fans of Each Other After Their Matchup," 2 Jan. 2019 Williams recently returned to tennis after giving birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., and marrying Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. — Kelcie Willis, ajc, "Serena Williams withdraws from French Open due to injury," 4 June 2018 Meanwhile, Esposito dated Aussie tennis player Mark Philippoussis, and the two became engaged in October 2009, according to People. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Who Is Jennifer Esposito? 6 Facts About the Actress Who Happens to Be Bradley Cooper's Ex-Wife," 26 Feb. 2019 At the breakfast table two guests were notably absent, having chosen to spend the morning playing tennis rather than join the group for its traditional sail. — Janine Di Giovanni, Town & Country, "Is Brexit Ruining London Dinner Parties?," 25 Feb. 2019 The script ends with a cut to a surprisingly cheery Waluigi leaving a locker room to play tennis. — Shoshana Wodinsky, The Verge, "This masterpiece is not the Waluigi movie script we want, but it’s the one we deserve," 17 Aug. 2018 Porto Ercole is brimming with tons of outdoor activities and Burch suggests incorporating something different every day, like hiking, swimming, or playing tennis. — Mara Balagtas, Condé Nast Traveler, "Designer Tory Burch's Guide to Summer in Italy," 6 Aug. 2018 Ohanian wrote next to a photo of Williams playing tennis. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Serena Williams Dedicates Her Wimbledon Performance to ‘All the Moms Out There’ in an Emotional Interview," 17 July 2018 Two others were friends who played tennis with him. — Nicole Chavez, CNN, "Ex-wife of Arizona killer lived in fear for 9 years waiting for 'his revenge'," 13 June 2018

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about tennis

Dictionary Entries near tennis

Statistics for tennis

Last Updated

9 Apr 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for tennis

The first known use of tennis was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for tennis

tennis

noun

English Language Learners Definition of tennis

: a game that is played by two people or two pairs of people on a special court (called a tennis court) where they hit a small ball back and forth over a net using rackets

See the full definition for tennis in the English Language Learners Dictionary

tennis

noun

ten·nis | \ ˈte-nəs