noun
tennis
TEH-nihs
noun
1
A sport in which two or four players hit a ball back and forth over a net using racquets.
"They played tennis every Saturday morning at the local club."
How to Use Tennis
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe racquet-and-net sport played on a court, either singles or doubles.
Common pairings
play tennis
tennis court
tennis racquet
Word Forms
tennised past tense, tennises plural, tennises singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “tennis”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
They played _____ every Saturday morning at the local club.
Etymology
From Old French tenez ("hold!" or "take this!"), reportedly called out by the server before hitting the ball in an earlier version of the game.