Stadium definition

stādē-əm
stadia stadiums
See word origin
Frequency:
(medicine) A stage or period in the course of a disease.
noun
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A large, usually open structure for sports events with tiered seating for spectators.
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An ancient Greek measure of distance, based on the length of such a course and equal to about 185 meters (607 feet).
noun
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(biology) A stage in the development or life history of an organism.
noun
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A course on which foot races were held in ancient Greece, usually semicircular and having tiers of seats for spectators.
noun
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In ancient Greece and Rome,
  • A unit of linear measure, equal to about 607 feet (185 meters)
  • A straight track for footraces, typically one stadium in length, with tiers of seats for spectators on each side.
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A large, usually open structure with tiers of seats for spectators, as for athletic events.
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(biol.) A period or stage in the life history of an animal or plant.
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A venue where sporting events are held.
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An ancient Greek race course, especially, the Olympic course for foot races.
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(now historical) A Greek measure of length, being the chief one used for itinerary distances, also adopted by the Romans for nautical and astronomical measurements, equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman feet, or 125 Roman paces, or to 606 feet, 9 inches.
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A kind of telemeter for measuring the distance of an object of known dimensions, by observing the angle it subtends.
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In surveying, a graduated rod used to measure the distance of the place where it stands from an instrument having a telescope, by observing the number of the graduations of the rod that are seen between certain parallel wires (stadia wires) in the field of view of the telescope.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
stadium
Plural:
stadia 1, stadiums

Origin of stadium

  • Middle English unit of length from Latin from Greek stadion perhaps alteration (influenced by stadios firm) of spadion racetrack from spān to pull

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Latin stadium (“a measure of length, a race course") (commonly one-eighth of a Roman mile; translated in early English Bibles by furlong), from Ancient Greek στάδιον (stadion, “a measure of length, a running track"), especially the track at Olympia, which was one stadium in length. The Greek word may literally mean "fixed standard of length" (from στάδιος (stadios, “firm, fixed"), from Proto-Indo-European *sta-, whence also stand).

    From Wiktionary

Stadium Sentence Examples

  • On the south it was bordered by a portico with a single row of columns in front; on the east by a double portico, more than a stadium in length (220 yds.), and serving as a racecourse for practice in bad weather.

  • An important place of entertainment is Olympia, near Hammersmith Road and the Addison Road station on the West London railway, which includes a vast arena under a glass roof; while at Shepherd's Bush are the extensive grounds and buildings first occupied by the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908, including a huge stadium for athletic displays.

  • The starting-point and the goal in the Stadium were marked by limestone thresholds.

  • Following northwards the line of the east wall, we reach at the north-east corner of the Altis the entrance to the Stadium, which extends east of the Altis in a direction from west-south-west to east-north-east.

  • The Tacoma High School has an excellent stadium for athletic contests, seating 25,000.

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Related articles

Words near stadium in the Dictionary