DictionaryAI

stadium

noun
STAY-dee-uhm/ˈsteɪ.di.əm/

Pluralstadiums, stadia

6 meanings of stadium

Practice

  1. 1
    sports groundnouncountable
    A large place with seats where people watch sports games.

    Like a giant outdoor theater, but for sports instead of plays.

    The new stadium can hold sixty thousand fans.

    We watched the championship game at the stadium downtown.

    UsageMore than one is usually stadiums.

    Similararena, ground, coliseum

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A running track in ancient Greece, especially the one used for races at the Olympics.

    Like a running track today, but built long ago in Greece.

    Runners lined up at the stadium for the first Olympic footrace.

    The ancient stadium at Olympia could seat thousands of spectators.

    UsageYou may also see the Greek word stadion for this.

  3. 3
    Greek lengthnounhistoricalcountable
    An old Greek measure of length, about 185 meters.

    Like using the length of a football field as a way to measure distance.

    The army marched twenty stadia before making camp.

    In ancient Greece, one stadium was about the length of a running track.

    UsageMore than one is often stadia.

    Similarstadion

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    noun
    One stage in the life of a living thing as it grows.
  2. 5
    noun
    A tall rod with marks on it that surveyors view through a telescope to measure distance.
  3. 6
    noun
    A device that finds an object's distance using its known size and the angle it takes up in view.

Practice

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Origin

From Latin stadium, meaning a measure of length or a racecourse, which came from Ancient Greek stádion, a measure of length or a running track, especially the one at Olympia.