tennis

noun, often attributive ten·nis \ ˈte-nəs \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

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

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Recent Examples of tennis from the Web

To realize their ambitious plans for the club, Du Pont and Wirth, a former DuPont Co. supply-chain vice president under former CEO Ellen Kullman and the father of the club’s current tennis program head, need to boost membership.

— joseph n. distefano, Philly.com, "Ben du Pont and Don Wirth buy DuPont Country Club, will invest $18M," 5 Apr. 2018
Leading a very active life Mary enjoyed playing tennis dancing crocheting and knitting playing bridge and entertaining.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Mary A. Plum," 5 Apr. 2018
After a difficult stretch this winter, the Michigan women’s tennis team is back on track thanks to the contributions of two local athletes.

— sam brief, chicagotribune.com, "College notes: Brienne Minor, Chiara Lommer pace Michigan women's tennis," 5 Apr. 2018
Their wives even grew into tennis partners before Beilein left WVU for Michigan in 2007.

— nick moyle, San Antonio Express-News, "Beilein, Michigan chasing what Wright, Villanova already have," 1 Apr. 2018
Both daughters moved on to high-level college tennis careers.

— jen murphy, WSJ, "Father-Daughter Bonding With Tennis Strings Attached," 31 Mar. 2018
Foiles joined the park district staff in 1982 as a recreation program supervisor and has developed and managed community events, such as Halloween Happening and Wonderful World of Wheels, and sports such as softball, baseball, cricket and tennis.

— michelle mullins, Naperville Sun, "Naperville People in the News," 30 Mar. 2018
The couple share their home with baby Stevie, two-year-old son Hank, and two bulldogs, Bob Costas, named for the sportscaster, and Billie Jean King, named for the tennis legend.

— mackenzie schmidt, PEOPLE.com, "Andy Roddick Hilariously Rescues Brooklyn Decker from 'Baby Tarantula' with a Dust Pan," 28 Mar. 2018
Ciara is a founding member and her friend, tennis legend Serena Williams, serves as the chairwoman.

— jessica andrews, Teen Vogue, "Ciara Talks Jewelry Trends, Personal Style and Womens Empowerment," 15 Mar. 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.

Origin and Etymology of tennis

Middle English tenetz, tenys, probably from Anglo-French tenez, 2nd person plural imperative of tenir to hold — more at tenable

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First Known Use: 15th century

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TENNIS Defined for English Language Learners

tennis

noun

Definition of tennis for English Language Learners

: 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