tennis

noun

ten·​nis ˈte-nəs How to pronounce tennis (audio)
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

Examples of tennis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The plaintiffs also highlight penalties on players who withdraw from the defendants’ tennis tournaments. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 18 Mar. 2025 Jack Draper of Great Britain was the No. 13 seed heading into the prestigious Indian Wells tennis tournament, while Mirra Andreeva of Russia was the No. 9 on the women’s side. Adam Zagoria, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025 The tournament’s top seed sets a record for points in a tournament game and all-time NCAA records for points in a period (55 in the first) and a half (94 in the first). 2020 — French Open becomes first Grand Slam tennis tournament to be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2025 The billionaire tech mogul and philanthropist and Hurd, the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, attended the second day of the famed tennis tournament, also known as the Indian Wells Open. Adam Carlson, People.com, 16 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tennis

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

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

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Cite this Entry

“Tennis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tennis. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

tennis

noun
ten·​nis ˈten-əs How to pronounce tennis (audio)
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on tennis

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