Definitions for tennis
ˈtɛn ɪsten·nis

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tennis, lawn tennisnoun

   a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tennisnoun

   A sport played by either two or four players with strung racquets, a 2½" (6.4 cm) ball, and a net approximately 3 feet high on a clay, grass, or cement court.

2. Etymology: tenez, second-person imperative of tenir.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tennisnoun

   A play at which a ball is driven with a racket.

   Etymology: this play is supposed by Stephen Skinner to be so named from the word tenez, take it, hold it, or there it goes, used by the French when they drive the ball.

   The barber’s man hath been seen with him, and the old ornament of his cheek hath already stuffed tennis balls. William Shakespeare.

   There was he gaming, there o’ertook in’s rowse,
   There falling out at tennis. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

   A prince, by a hard destiny, became a tennis ball long to the blind goddess. James Howell, Vocal Forest.

   It can be no more disgrace to a great lord to draw a fair picture, than to play at tennis with his page. Henry Peacham.

   The inside of the uvea is blacked like the walls of a tennis court, that the rays falling upon the retina may not, by being rebounded thence upon the uvea, be returned again; for such a repercussion would make the sight more confused. Henry More, Antidote against Atheism.

   We conceive not a tennis ball to think, and consequently not to have any volition, or preference of motion to rest. John Locke.

   We have no exedra for the philosophers adjoining to our tennis court, but there are alehouses. Scriblerus Club .

2. To Tennisverb

   To drive as a ball.

   Etymology: from the noun.

   Those four garisons issuing forth upon the enemy, will so drive him from one side to another, and tennis him amongst them, that he shall find no where safe to keep his feet in, nor hide himself. Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tennis

   Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages. The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. It had close connections both to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis.The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye.Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the majors) are especially popular: the Australian Open, played on hardcourts; the French Open, played on red clay courts; Wimbledon, played on grass courts; and the US Open, also played on hardcourts.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Tennisnoun

   a play in which a ball is driven to and fro, or kept in motion by striking it with a racket or with the open hand

2. Tennisverb

   to drive backward and forward, as a ball in playing tennis

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tennis

   ten′is, n. an ancient game for two to four persons, played with ball and rackets within a building specially constructed for the purpose: lawn-tennis (q.v.), a modern imitation of the former.—ns. Tenn′is-ball, a ball used in the game of tennis; Tenn′is-court, a place or court for playing at tennis. [Skeat suggests O. Fr. tenies, pl. of tenie, a fillet—L. tænia.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Tennis

   A game played by two or four players with rackets and an elastic ball on a level court divided by a low net.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. TENNIS

   A game in which the participants enjoy a racket on the side and raise the deuce over a net, while the volleys drive them from set to set and love scores as often as it's mentioned.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tennis

   The tennis symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the tennis symbol and its characteristic.

2. tennis

   Song lyrics by tennis -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by tennis on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Court Game

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tennis' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3526

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tennis' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3523

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tennis' in Nouns Frequency: #1453

Anagrams for tennis »

1. nestin

2. sennit

3. sinnet

4. tensin

5. innest

How to pronounce tennis?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say tennis in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tennis in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tennis in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of tennis in a Sentence

1. Denisa Allertova:

   I'm just trying to focus on my tennis and play every point like it's my last. It worked, and I'm so happy that I won today !

2. Dominic Thiem:

   I think there's not much to change, also in the last two sets, I definitely gave everything I had. Well, Novak Djokovic is part of three guys who are by far the best players to have ever played tennis.

3. Simona Halep:

   I think I played a good level of tennis... No pain at all. I'm happy about that. It's a great sign.

4. Nick Kyrgios:

   I really wanted to go out there today and remind everyone that I'm able to play some really good tennis without any distractions, the crowd enjoyed it today and it was just business-like.

5. Rod Laver:

   I was pretty fortunate this happened for the five years, then when Open tennis came along, and I got a chance to play in the Open ranks, I was a different player, all the amateur guys said: 'Who is this guy now? He doesn't miss too many, he doesn't make mistakes, his second service is as good as his first.'.

Popularity rank by frequency of use