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
When Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida in October, peeling the roof off Tropicana Field like a ripe orange, the Tampa Bay Rays were left to scramble to find a stadium for the 2025 season.
—
Brett Knight, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Some of the award-winning wines produced by the estate are being sold in baseball stadiums, such as Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Yankee Stadium, Elite Auctions said in a news release.
—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
The operation resulted in 65,000 pieces of anti-Castro literature being distributed across Latin America, and within the United States, the CIA collaborated with Catholics to hold a Mass at a Miami stadium that was attended by 25,000 people.
—Robert Schmad, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Mar. 2025
In the picture, the couple smiled broadly while posing in front of Chicago's iconic Wrigley Field baseball stadium.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stadium
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Brett Knight, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Some of the award-winning wines produced by the estate are being sold in baseball stadiums, such as Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Yankee Stadium, Elite Auctions said in a news release.
—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
The operation resulted in 65,000 pieces of anti-Castro literature being distributed across Latin America, and within the United States, the CIA collaborated with Catholics to hold a Mass at a Miami stadium that was attended by 25,000 people.
—Robert Schmad, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Mar. 2025
In the picture, the couple smiled broadly while posing in front of Chicago's iconic Wrigley Field baseball stadium.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 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 28 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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