spectator sport en · NOUN
Meanings
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A sporting activity which has a relatively high ratio of watchers to direct participants.
Today harness racing is a $430 million-a-year business, the fastest-growing spectator sport in the U.S.
1953 October 5, “Yonkers Doodle”, in Time:
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(idiomatic) Something, especially a process or activity, which is a popular object of observation; an activity which a person prefers to watch rather than to participate in.
The singer Britney Spears, whose descent into a personal abyss has become a ghoulish worldwide spectator sport, yesterday left a Los Angeles hospital.
2008 January 6, David Randall, “Britney Spears, one-woman disaster zone, leaves hospital after two days”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 31 Aug 2009:Politics for me was strictly a spectator sport.
1977, Muriel Clara Bradbrook, My Cambridge, →ISBN, page 120:
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(idiomatic) An activity which consists of watching or observing.
Rubbernecking is only a spectator sport.
2008, Andrew Savva, Trisomy 13, →ISBN, page 112:Thompson, who's the digest's publisher, says bird watching is a hobby, a pastime and a spectator sport that can be enjoyed anywhere.
2007 June 1, Brian Dakss, “Expert Offers Basics On What Some Call Nation's No. 1 Spectator Sport”, in CBS News, retrieved 31 Aug 2009:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| spectator sports | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (11)
cmn 觀賞性運動 /观赏性运动 (sporting activity with high number of spectators) · cmn 觀看活動 /观看活动 (activity which consists of watching) · fi penkkiurheilu (something which is a popular object of observation) · fi penkkiurheilu (activity which consists of watching) · fi yleisöurheilu (sporting activity with high number of spectators) · cmn 觀賞活動 /观赏活动 (something which is a popular object of observation) · cmn 觀察性活動 /观察性活动 (activity which consists of watching) · fi penkkiurheilu (sporting activity with high number of spectators) · cmn 觀眾運動 /观众运动 (sporting activity with high number of spectators) · cmn 圍觀項目 /围观项目 (something which is a popular object of observation) · sv åskådarsport (sporting activity with high number of spectators)