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
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
The district moved one step closer to wooing the Commanders, with the Senate pushing forward legislation that would give the district control of the land where RFK Stadium is to possibly build a new stadium.
—
Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 27 Nov. 2024
In just seven seasons the team has had three different jersey sponsors and even the name of its stadium has changed.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
The old stadium was still the place to buy a fresh Christmas tree sold by veterans to benefit the Eye Bank of Maryland.
—Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 26 Nov. 2024
Fast forward, in October of 2023, the Kansas City Current announced a historic 10-year stadium naming rights agreement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), and CPKC Stadium was born.
—Caroline Fitzgerald, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stadium 
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Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 27 Nov. 2024
In just seven seasons the team has had three different jersey sponsors and even the name of its stadium has changed.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
The old stadium was still the place to buy a fresh Christmas tree sold by veterans to benefit the Eye Bank of Maryland.
—Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 26 Nov. 2024
Fast forward, in October of 2023, the Kansas City Current announced a historic 10-year stadium naming rights agreement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), and CPKC Stadium was born.
—Caroline Fitzgerald, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stadium
Dictionary Entries Near stadium
Cite this Entry
“Stadium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stadium. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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.
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