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

Synonyms of stadium

• coliseum
• park

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

Mustard’s now has an outpost inside Ryan Field, too, part of an all-out effort by Northwestern to attract Chicago, Evanston and North Shore restaurants to the new stadium. — Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

The attendance record, which was broken on the second of Bryan’s two performances at the venue, was announced by tour promoter AEG on Sunday morning, and in a post on the stadium’s social media accounts. — Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026

The move appeared as a blatant response to stadium owner Robert Kraft’s role in having rapper Macklemore removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour after the rapper made pro-Palestinian comments onstage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. — Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026

As of now, Bryan is still scheduled to return to Gillette stadium on Saturday evening as part of his sold-out With Heaven On Tour. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, from Greek stadion

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Rhymes for stadium

• palladium
• vanadium
• radium

Kids 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.