tennis

noun

ten·nis �?te-nəs

often attributive

: 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

: 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.

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian is married to tennis champion Serena Williams, and their attendance at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle in 2017 was, naturally, posted to Reddit. —

Catherine Baab-Muguira, Quartz, 5 Dec. 2024 Morgan Riddle got really into a TikTok musical The 27-year-old girlfriend of tennis player Taylor Fritz, has become a popular influencer over the past few years. —

Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024 That deal included investments from backers like WRAL and Durham Bulls' owner Capitol Broadcasting, tennis star Naomi Osaka and Raleigh developer John Kane. —

Zachery Eanes, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024 She's also been a regular fixture at all of her now-fiancé's tennis matches and the two have also been featured in Netflix's tennis docuseries, Break Point. —

Gil MacIas, People.com, 30 Nov. 2024 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

See more words from the same century