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
: court tennis

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.
Most pieces range from $345 for a pair of moissanite huggie earrings to $5,598 for a diamond, yellow gold tennis necklace. — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026 For more than 1 million fans and approximately 300 players, the nation’s premier tennis tournament is a three-week marathon of 619 matches. — Aaron Short, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026 What people can expect is a fun, family-friendly event with food, with interactions, with some decent tennis every now and then, and just some fun, really. — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026 The mixed gender tennis league that was co-founded by Billie Jean King in 1974 has inked a deal with USA Sports to televise WTT matches, with all six games running in primetime on CNBC, and streaming on Fandango. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 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

Phrases Containing tennis

Rhymes for tennis

See All Rhymes for tennis

Browse Nearby Words

tennies
tennis
tennis ball
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tennis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tennis. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

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

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tennis

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All