stadium
noun
sta·di·um
ˈstā-dē-əm 
plural stadiums or stadia
ˈstā-dē-ə
1
: a large usually roofless building with tiers of seats for spectators at sports events
2
a
: a tiered structure with seats for spectators surrounding an ancient Greek running track
b
: a course for footraces in ancient Greece
3
a
: any of various ancient Greek units of length ranging in value from 607 to 738 feet (about 185 to 225 meters)
b
: an ancient Roman unit of length equal to 607 feet (185 meters)
4
[New Latin, from Latin]
: a stage in a life history
especially
: one between successive molts of an insect
Examples of stadium in a Sentence
the football game will be held at the new stadium, which seats 100,000 people
Recent Examples on the Web
But that doesn’t mean MLB and the MLBPA couldn’t tie their slice of the pie to a new stadium.
—
Evan Drellich, The Athletic, 10 Mar. 2025
Zoom out: The Bears are pushing for the state of Illinois to invest billions for a new stadium on the Museum Campus or in Arlington Heights, but the governor and the legislature haven't shown much interest in making that happen on the state's dime.
—Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 7 Mar. 2025
Kaval was the public face of the team’s multiple efforts to build a new stadium in Oakland before talks broke down with local officials and the team focused on moving to Las Vegas.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2025
Long discussed setting a higher bar than what was previously there with women’s sports, and the two spoke about the investment in the stadium and training facility.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stadium
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Evan Drellich, The Athletic, 10 Mar. 2025
Zoom out: The Bears are pushing for the state of Illinois to invest billions for a new stadium on the Museum Campus or in Arlington Heights, but the governor and the legislature haven't shown much interest in making that happen on the state's dime.
—Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 7 Mar. 2025
Kaval was the public face of the team’s multiple efforts to build a new stadium in Oakland before talks broke down with local officials and the team focused on moving to Las Vegas.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2025
Long discussed setting a higher bar than what was previously there with women’s sports, and the two spoke about the investment in the stadium and training facility.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stadium
Cite this Entry
“Stadium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stadium. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stadium
noun
sta·di·um
ˈstād-ē-əm
plural stadia
-ē-ə
or stadiums
1
: a course for footraces in ancient Greece with rows of seats for spectators
2
plural usually stadiums
: a large usually roofless building with rows of seats for spectators at modern sports events
Etymology
Middle English stadium "a course for races in ancient Greece, a large structure for sports events," from Latin stadium (same meaning), from Greek stadion "a course for footraces, a unit of measurement"
Word Origin
A stadion in ancient Greece was a unit of measurement equal to about 180 meters. One of the most important events in the ancient Olympic Games was a footrace exactly one stadion long. The course on which the race was run, including the raised seats from which spectators watched, was also known as a stadion. This word was later borrowed into Latin as stadium. In time, it also came to be used to refer to larger structures in which different kinds of athletic contests were held. That is how the English word stadium is usually used.
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