stadium

/ˈsteɪdiəm/

/ˈsteɪdiəm/

Other forms: stadiums; stadia

A stadium is a large outdoor venue for sports or concerts. If you were a Roman emperor, you might've watched a chariot race at a stadium, but these days you're more likely to go to a stadium to see a football game or your favorite band.

The word stadium is the Latin form of the Greek stadion, which was a length of about 600 human feet. Running tracks at the earliest Greek Olympics were approximately one stadion in length, and Roman tracks of a similar size were surrounded by tiered seating — which led to the English meaning of stadium, a track or field in the middle of tiered seats.

Definitions of stadium

1. noun

   a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments
   synonyms: arena, bowl, sports stadium

   types:

   amphitheater, amphitheatre, coliseum

   an oval large stadium with tiers of seats; an arena in which contests and spectacles are held

   ballpark, park

   a facility in which ball games are played (especially baseball games)

   bullring

   a stadium where bullfights take place

   circus

   (antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games

   covered stadium, dome, domed stadium

   a stadium that has a roof

   football stadium

   a stadium where football games are held

   hippodrome

   a stadium for horse shows or horse races

   skybox

   an elevated box for viewing events at a sports stadium

   type of:

   construction, structure

   a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts