Word
tennis
Phoneticsten·nis
US/ˈtɛnəs/
UK/tˈɛnɪs/
Definition
n. a sport played with racquets and a ball on a court divided by a net.
n. a racket sport played on a rectangular court with a net across the center, involving either two players or two pairs of players.
Examples
“I play tennis with my friends every Saturday morning.”
“The local sports club has four grass courts where members can play tennis during the summer months.”
“Professional tennis requires not only exceptional physical stamina and hand-eye coordination but also the mental fortitude to remain focused during matches that can last several hours.”
Examples
simple
“I play tennis with my friends every Saturday morning.”
contextual
“The local sports club has four grass courts where members can play tennis during the summer months.”
complex
“Professional tennis requires not only exceptional physical stamina and hand-eye coordination but also the mental fortitude to remain focused during matches that can last several hours.”
Usage
Usually uncountable when referring to the sport itself.
Etymology
From Middle English tennys, teneys, tenis, from Old French tenez (second-person plural imperative of tenir (“to hold”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
tonsil tennis — Synonym of French kissing: the act or practice of kissing involving the tongue.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/tennis