Meaning & use
championship
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Meanings
nouncountable
A competition or series of games held to find the best player or team in a sport or activity.
Grammar: Use it for the event itself: win the championship; the championships are held every year.
Patterns
- win a championship
- hold a championship
- the world championship
The city hosted the national swimming championship last summer.
Our school team entered the regional championship and finished third.
She has competed in the world championship three times.
nouncountable
The position or title of being the best in a competition, often held by the current winner.
Grammar: Often used with hold, lose, regain, or defend: she holds the championship.
Patterns
- hold the championship
- lose the championship
- defend the championship
He held the championship for two years before losing it to a younger rival.
The team is determined to regain the championship this season.
Defending the championship is often harder than winning it the first time.
Word forms
| plural | championships |
|---|
Common combinations
- win the championship
- They hope to win the championship for the first time in a decade.
- world championship
- The world championship attracts athletes from over fifty countries.
- championship game
- The championship game will be shown live on television.
- championship title
- She successfully defended her championship title.
- host the championship
- Japan will host the championship next year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tournament
- A tournament is a series of matches; a championship is the final contest or the whole event that decides the best.
- title
- Title means the official status of being champion, not the event itself.
- contest
- Contest is a general word for any competition; championship is specific to deciding a champion.
Word family
- champion noun
- A person or team that has won a competition.
- champion verb
- To support or fight for a cause or person.
- championship noun
- The competition or the status of being champion.
Commonly confused: championship or champion?
championship vs champion
Champion is the winner; championship is the contest or the title.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'championship' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The championship is the event or title she won; 'champion' is the person, and 'championships' is plural but the race is one event.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “championship”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.