stadium

[ stey-dee-uh m ]
/ ˈsteɪ di əm /

noun, plural sta·di·ums, sta·di·a [stey-dee-uh] /ˈsteɪ di ə/.

a sports arena, usually oval or horseshoe-shaped, with tiers of seats for spectators.
an ancient Greek course for foot races, typically semicircular, with tiers of seats for spectators.
an ancient Greek and Roman unit of length, the Athenian unit being equal to about 607 feet (185 meters).
a stage in a process or in the life of an organism.
Entomology. stage(def 11b).

Origin of stadium

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek stádion unit of distance, racecourse

Example sentences from the Web for stadium

British Dictionary definitions for stadium

stadium
/ (ˈsteɪdɪəm) /

noun plural -diums or -dia (-dɪə)

a sports arena with tiered seats for spectators
(in ancient Greece) a course for races, usually located between two hills providing natural slopes for tiers of seats
an ancient Greek measure of length equivalent to about 607 feet or 184 metres
(in many arthropods) the interval between two consecutive moultings
obsolete a particular period or stage in the development of a disease

Word Origin for stadium

C16: via Latin from Greek stadion, changed from spadion a racecourse, from spān to pull; also influenced by Greek stadios steady