tennis

noun

ten·​nis ˈte-nəs 

often attributive

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

Wimbledon’s already feeding tennis lingo into its own AI. —Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025

Highlights from the 23-year-old professional tennis player’s career thus far include a semifinal match at the 2024 Wimbledon tennis tournament and a recent semi-final at the 2025 French Open, against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. —Julia Teti, Footwear News, 1 July 2025

The age rule was adopted in 1995 in response to Jennifer Capriati, a teenage tennis phenomenon who struggled with the pressure of competition at such a young age. —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 1 July 2025

The 21-year-old tennis phenom dropped her first round of the Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday in straight sets to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tenetz, tenys, perhaps borrowed from Anglo-French tenez, 2nd person plural imperative of tenir "to hold" — more at tenant entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing tennis

• court tennis
• deck tennis
• lawn tennis
• paddle tennis
• platform tennis
• squash tennis
• table tennis
• tennis court
• tennis elbow
• tennis shoe

Rhymes for tennis

• menace

Kids Definition

tennis

noun

ten·​nis ˈten-əs 

: a game played with rackets and a light elastic ball by two players or two pairs of players on a level court divided by a low net