English Vocabulary – Sport

Are you watching the World Cup? Whether you are or you don’t like sports a lot, we thought it is the perfect day to learn some new vocabulary words related to sport.

Who’s ready to learn?!

English vocabulary related to sport

Archery – the sport or skill of shooting with a bow and arrow.

For example:
“I want to do archery when I am older. I will pretend I am Robin Hood”

Arena – a building for sports and other forms of entertainment that has a large central area surrounded by seats.

For example:
“The boxers went into the arena and everyone cheered”

Athlete – a person who is trained in or good at sports, games, or exercises that require physical skill and strength.

For example:
“My dad always wanted to be an athlete, he wanted to run the 500 metres race”

Athletics – sports, games, and exercises that require strength and skill : athletic activities.

For example:
“Athletics are very important in America”

Award – to give (a reward or prize) to someone or something.

For example:
“I hope my sister wins an award for dancing, she’s practiced so much!”

Beat – to defeat (someone) in a game, contest, etc.

For example:
“I want Ghana to defeat Iceland”

Champion – someone or something (such as a team or an animal) that has won a contest or competition especially in sports.

For example:
“She is a champion swimmer”

Cheer – a shout of praise or encouragement.

For example:
“Everyone in the stadium cheered very loudly”

Coach – a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer.

For example:
“Everyone loves the Barcelona coach, he is very good”

Cup – a large gold or silver cup that is given as a prize for winning a competition or game.

For example:
“Have you seen the cup they won? It’s amazing”

Decathlon – a sports contest for men that consists of 10 different events.

For example:
“One day I would like to go to a decathlon to watch”

Defeat – to win a victory over (someone or something) in a war, contest, game, etc.

For example:
“Brazil defeated Korea again”

Draw – to finish a game, contest, etc., without having a winner.

For example:
“The score was a draw, nobody won and nobody lost”

Equestrian – of or relating to the riding of horses.

For example:
“Joe is an equestrian champion, he loved riding horses since he was a child”

League – a group of sports teams that play against each other.

For example:
“My two boys play in the little league at school”

Leisure – enjoyable activities that you do when you are not working.

For example:
“Maria plays water polo for leisure”

Medal – a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with designs and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement.

For example:
“The whole

Net – a device that is used for catching or holding things or for keeping things out of a space and that is made of pieces of string, rope, wire, etc., woven together with spaces in between.

For example:
“The ball went straight over the net!”

Object – to disagree with something or oppose something.

For example:
“I object! That wasn’t a goal!”

Offense – something that causes a person to be hurt, angry, or upset.

For example:
“The football player is always causing offenses”

Offside – in a position in a game (such as football or hockey) on the opponent’s part of the field where you are not allowed to be : not onside.

For example:
“That goal doesn’t count because the player was offside”

Opponent – a person, team, group, etc., that is competing against another in a contest.

For example:
“His opponent is a very famous boxer. I think he’ll win”

Record – a performance or achievement that is the best of its kind.

For example:
“That runner broke the record for fastest 100 metres”

Referee – a person who makes sure that players act according to the rules of a game or sport

For example:
“Many people think the referee was wrong”

Score – the number of points, goals, runs, etc., that each player or team has in a game or contest.

For example:
“The score was 4-6”

Spectator – a person who watches an event, show, game, activity, etc., often as part of an audience.

For example:
“The ball hit the spectator in the face, even though he was sitting very far away”

Stadium – a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts, etc.

For example:
“We are all going to watch the game at the stadium, do you want to come?”

Tackle – the act of tackling another player: such as
in American football or rugby : the act of forcing the player who has the ball to fall to the ground.

For example:
“Wow! Did you see that player tackle his opponent?”

Tactics – an action or method that is planned and used to achieve a particular goal.

For example:
“What do you think of that team’s tactics? They are very smart”

Tie – to make the score of a game or contest equal.

For example:
“The teams tied, so nobody won”

Trophy – an object (such as a large cup or sculpture) that is given as a prize for winning a competition.

For example:
“I am so excited we won the trophy. It’s a big golden cup”

Whistle – a small device that makes a very high and loud sound when a person blows air through it.

For example:
“The referee blew the whistle and the game ended”