Meaning & use
spectator
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who watches an organized event, such as a sports game or performance, without taking part.
Grammar: Countable: a spectator, the spectators, many spectators.
Patterns
- a spectator at something
- spectators watch something
- thousands of spectators
The spectators cheered loudly when the home team scored.
She was a spectator at the marathon, not a runner.
Security guards asked the spectators to remain in their seats.
nouncountable
A person who watches something interesting or unusual happen without getting involved.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'mere spectator' to emphasize not taking part.
Patterns
- a mere spectator
- a passive spectator
I felt like a mere spectator as the argument continued.
He stood as a silent spectator while the others made the decision.
Word forms
| plural | spectators |
|---|
Common combinations
- spectators watch
- The spectators watched in silence as the final shot was taken.
- a crowd of spectators
- A crowd of spectators gathered outside the stadium.
- spectator sport
- Baseball is often called a spectator sport.
- spectator stands
- The spectator stands were full an hour before kickoff.
Synonyms and how they differ
- onlooker
- Onlooker is more general and often suggests someone who watches something by chance, not a planned event.
- viewer
- Viewer usually refers to someone watching television or online content, not a live event.
- audience
- Audience is a group of spectators, especially at a performance; a spectator is one individual.
Opposites
Word family
- spectate verb
- To watch an event as a spectator.
- spectatorial adjective
- Relating to spectators or watching (rare).
Commonly confused: spectator or specter?
spectator vs specter
Specter means a ghost or a frightening possibility; it sounds similar to spectator but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'spectator' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A spectator watches an event without taking part, so 'spectators clapped as the actors came on stage' fits. Option An is wrong because a spectator does not run in the marathon. Option C uses 'spectated' incorrectly with an object and contradicts being a player. Option D is wrong because a spectator does not participate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spectator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.