sporting

UK: /ˈspɔː^rtɪŋ/ US: /ˈspɔrtɪŋ/ ,(spôr′ting, spōr′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

sport•ing /ˈspɔrtɪŋ/   adj. 

1. Sport of or relating to sports, esp. outdoor sports:
   [before a noun] a sporting event.
2. Sport fair;
   generous:
   He wasn't very sporting about the student's request for a change of grade.
3. Sport involving a fair or reasonable opportunity for success:
   [before a noun] a sporting chance.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sport•ing  (spôr′ting, spōr′-), adj. 

1. Sport engaging in, disposed to, or interested in open-air or athletic sports:
   a rugged, sporting man.
2. Sport concerned with or suitable for such sports:
   sporting equipment.
3. Sport sportsmanlike.
4. Sport interested in or connected with sports or pursuits involving betting or gambling:
   the sporting life of Las Vegas.
5. Sport involving or inducing the taking of risk, as in a sport.

• sport + -ing² 1590–1600

sport′ing•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sporting / ˈspɔːtɪŋ/ adjective

1. (prenominal) of, relating to, or used or engaged in a sport or sports
2. relating or conforming to sportsmanship; fair
3. of, relating to, or characterized by an interest in gambling
4. willing to take a risk

ˈsportingly adverb

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

sport /spɔrt/   n. 

1. Sport an often competitive athletic activity requiring skill or physical ability:
   [countable] interested in several sports: gymnastics, baseball, and soccer.
2. Sport such activities thought of as a group:
   [uncountable] And now, news from the world of sport.
3. [uncountable] recreation;
   diversion.
4. jest;
   pleasantry:
   [uncountable] It was all done in sport.
5. mockery;
   ridicule:
   [uncountable] made sport of his haircut.
6. one who behaves in a fair, understanding way:
   [countable] We hope he'll be a (good) sport and give us the raise we deserve.

adj. [before a noun] Also, sports. 

7. Sport of, relating to, or used in sports:
   an expert in sports medicine.
8. Clothing suitable for outdoor or informal wear:
   sport clothes.

v. 

9. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime;
   frolic:
   [no object] kittens sporting and playing.
10. [no object] to speak or act in a joking manner.
11. to wear or display, esp. while showing off:
    [~ + object] She sported a diamond ring.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sport  (spôrt, spōrt), n. 

1. Sport an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2. Sport a particular form of this, esp. in the out of doors.
3. diversion;
   recreation;
   pleasant pastime.
4. jest;
   fun;
   mirth;
   pleasantry:
   What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5. mockery;
   ridicule;
   derision:
   They made sport of him.
6. an object of derision;
   laughingstock.
7. something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
8. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
9. Sport a sportsman.
10. Informal Terms a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner;
    an accommodating person:
    He was a sport and took his defeat well.
11. Sport, Informal Terms [Informal.] a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling;
    gambler.
12. Informal Terms a flashy person;
    one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like;
    a bon vivant.
13. [Biol.] an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type;
    mutation.
14. [Obs.] amorous dalliance.

adj. 

15. Sport of, pertaining to, or used in sports or a particular sport.
16. Clothing suitable for outdoor or informal wear:
    sport clothes.

v.i. 

17. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
18. to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.
19. Sport to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
20. to trifle or treat lightly:
    to sport with another's emotions.
21. to mock, scoff, or tease:
    to sport at suburban life.
22. Botany to mutate.

v.t. 

23. to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
24. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often fol. by away).
25. Informal Terms to wear, display, carry, etc., esp. with ostentation;
    show off:
    to sport a new mink coat.
26. [Archaic.] to amuse (esp. oneself ).
27. British Terms sport one's oak. See oak (def. 5).

• 1350–1400; Middle English; aphetic variant of disport

sport′ful, adj. 
sport′ful•ly, adv. 
sport′ful•ness, n. 
sport′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. game.
• 3. amusement, fun, entertainment. See play. 
• 18. romp, caper.
• 20. toy.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sport / spɔːt/ noun

1. an individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game such as football, tennis, etc
2. such activities considered collectively
3. any particular pastime indulged in for pleasure
4. the pleasure derived from a pastime, esp hunting, shooting, or fishing: we had good sport today
5. playful or good-humoured joking: to say a thing in sport
6. derisive mockery or the object of such mockery: to make sport of someone
7. someone or something that is controlled by external influences: the sport of fate
8. 
   sometimes qualified by good, bad, etc: a person who reacts cheerfully in the face of adversity, esp a good loser
9. a person noted for being scrupulously fair and abiding by the rules of a game
10. a person who leads a merry existence, esp a gambler: he's a bit of a sport
11. a form of address used esp between males
12. an animal or plant that differs conspicuously in one or more aspects from other organisms of the same species, usually because of a mutation
13. an anomalous characteristic of such an organism

verb

1. (transitive) to wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner: she was sporting a new hat
2. (intransitive) to skip about or frolic happily
3. to amuse (oneself), esp in outdoor physical recreation
4. (intransitive) often followed by with: to dally or trifle (with)
5. (transitive) often followed by away: to squander (time or money): sporting one's life away
6. (intransitive) often followed by with: to make fun (of)
7. (intransitive) to produce or undergo a mutation

Etymology: 15th Century sporten, variant of disporten to disport

ˈsporter noun

ˈsportful adjective

ˈsportfully adverb

ˈsportfulness noun