tournament

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A competition in which many players or teams play a series of games until one winner is decided.

   Grammar: Countable: a tournament, two tournaments. Often used with 'in' or 'at': She's playing in the tournament.

   Patterns

   • a tennis/chess tournament
   • enter a tournament
   • win a tournament
   • be knocked out of a tournament

   Our school is hosting a chess tournament next month.

   He was eliminated in the first round of the tournament.

   She has won three international tournaments this year.

2. 2nouncountable

   In the past, a contest between knights on horseback who fought with lances to show their skill.

   Grammar: Countable; usually used in historical contexts.

   Patterns

   • a medieval tournament
   • hold a tournament

   Knights gathered for a grand tournament to display their bravery.

   The king watched the tournament from a special stand.

Word forms

Common combinations

tennis tournament

The Wimbledon tennis tournament attracts players from all over the world.

chess tournament

He entered a local chess tournament and came second.

host a tournament

The city will host the tournament for the first time.

be eliminated from a tournament

They were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals.

round-robin tournament

In a round-robin tournament, every team plays every other team.

Synonyms and how they differ

competition

'Competition' is a general word for any event where people try to win; 'tournament' specifically suggests a series of matches leading to one winner.

contest

'Contest' can be a single event, while a tournament usually involves several rounds or games.

championship

'Championship' often refers to the final match or series to decide the overall champion, whereas a tournament is the whole set of matches.

Word family

tourney noun

An informal or old-fashioned word for a tournament, especially in sports.

Commonly confused: tournament or tour?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “tournament”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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