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stadium

n.
US //ˈsteɪdiəm// UK //stˈeɪdiəm// sta·di·um
  1. 1 sports venue (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Sport

    a large building with seats around a field where people watch sports or concerts.

    a large, typically open-air venue with tiered seating for spectators, used for sporting events or large-scale performances.

    Example

    The fans gathered outside the stadium hours before the championship game started.

    Example

    The city invested millions in a state-of-the-art stadium, hoping to attract international tournaments and boost the local tourism economy.

  2. 2 biological stage (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    a specific stage in the life or growth of a living thing.

    a period or stage in the development or life cycle of an organism, or a stage in the course of a disease.

    Example

    The insect looks very different during this stadium of its life.

    Example

    The researchers observed significant physiological changes during the third stadium of the larval development process.

    Usage

    In biology, the plural form is often 'stadia' rather than 'stadiums'.

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  1. 3 ancient racecourse (n.)
    C1 Advanced Archaic

    a track used for running races in ancient Greece.

    an ancient Greek course for foot races, typically tiered with seats for spectators.

    Example

    Visitors can still see the ruins of the ancient stadium where the first athletes ran.

    Example

    The archaeological site includes a well-preserved stadium where athletes once competed in the original Olympic games.

Origin

From Latin stadium (“a measure of length, a race course”) (commonly one-eighth of a Roman mile; translated in early English Bibles by furlong), from Ancient Greek στάδιον (stádion, “a measure of length, a running track”), especially the track at Olympia, which was one stadium in length. The Greek word may literally mean "fixed standard of length" (from στάδιος (stádios, “firm, fixed”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-, whence also stand and Latin stare). Doublet of stade, stadion, and estadio.

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