stadium

noun

sta·​di·​um ˈstā-dē-əm 

plural stadiums or stadia ˈstā-dē-ə 

1

: a large usually roofless building with tiers of seats for spectators at sports events

2

a

: a tiered structure with seats for spectators surrounding an ancient Greek running track

b

: a course for footraces in ancient Greece

3

a

: any of various ancient Greek units of length ranging in value from 607 to 738 feet (about 185 to 225 meters)

b

: an ancient Roman unit of length equal to 607 feet (185 meters)

4

[New Latin, from Latin] : a stage in a life history

especially : one between successive molts of an insect

Synonyms

• bowl
• circus
• coliseum
• colosseum

Examples of stadium in a Sentence

the football game will be held at the new stadium, which seats 100,000 people

Recent Examples on the Web

Francona was known to ride a scooter from his place in Cleveland to the stadium and has put out feelers to get a new scooter in Cincinnati. —C. Trent Rosecrans, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024

On the front of the stadium is a 140-foot inflatable friendship bracelet. —Bryan West, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2024

After opening in Saudi Arabia, the tour will visit the United Arab Emirates before moving on to stadiums in Europe, with shows in Georgia, Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany, the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Serbia. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 9 Dec. 2024

The third shot showed the peak time in the evening and at that point, thousands of cars could be seen descending on the stadium as fans flocked to see their idol perform. —Aron Solomon, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, from Greek stadion

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Kids Definition

stadium

noun

sta·​di·​um ˈstād-ē-əm 

plural stadia

-ē-ə

or stadiums

1

: a course for footraces in ancient Greece with rows of seats for spectators

2

plural usually stadiums : a large usually roofless building with rows of seats for spectators at modern sports events

Etymology

Middle English stadium "a course for races in ancient Greece, a large structure for sports events," from Latin stadium (same meaning), from Greek stadion "a course for footraces, a unit of measurement"

Word Origin

A stadion in ancient Greece was a unit of measurement equal to about 180 meters. One of the most important events in the ancient Olympic Games was a footrace exactly one stadion long. The course on which the race was run, including the raised seats from which spectators watched, was also known as a stadion. This word was later borrowed into Latin as stadium. In time, it also came to be used to refer to larger structures in which different kinds of athletic contests were held. That is how the English word stadium is usually used.