Sports Terminology: Types, Key Terms, and Actions
Posted on Feb 2, 2025 in Physical Education
Common Sports
- Badminton
- Cricket
- Cycling
- Darts
- Football
- Golf
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
Contact Sports
Water Sports
- Fishing
- Canoeing
- Kayaking
- Sailing
Winter Sports
Less Usual Sports
Key Terms
- Amateur: An athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition.
- Professional: A skilled practitioner; an expert.
- Basket: Either of the two goals normally elevated ten feet above the floor, consisting of a metal hoop from which an open-bottomed circular net is suspended.
- Captain: One who commands, leads, or guides others.
- Cup: A golf hole or the metal container inside a hole.
- Game: A competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules.
- Match: A game or contest in which two or more persons, animals, or teams oppose and compete with each other.
- Medal: A flat piece of metal stamped with a design or an inscription commemorating an event or a person, often given as an award.
- Net: A barrier of meshwork cord or rope strung between two posts to divide a court in half, as in tennis and badminton.
- Ace: In racket games: a. A serve that one’s opponent fails to hit. b. A point scored by such a serve.
- Race: A competition of speed, as in running or riding.
- Referee: An official supervising the play; an umpire.
- Skill: Ability. Proficiency, facility that is acquired or developed through training or experience.
- Spectators: An observer of an event.
- Team: A group on the same side, as in a game.
- Whistle: To produce a clear, shrill, sharp musical sound by blowing on or through a device.
Verbs
- Beat: To defeat or subdue, as in a contest.
- Defeat: To win victory over; beat.
- Cycle: To ride a bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle.
- Dive: To go toward the bottom of a body of water; submerge.
- Draw: To hit or strike.
- Hit: 1. To score in this way: She hit the winning basket. 2. To perform (a shot or maneuver) successfully: couldn’t hit the jump shot.
- Kick: 1. To score or gain ground by kicking a ball. 2. To punt in football. 3. To propel the body in swimming by moving the legs, as with a flutter kick or frog kick.
- Lose: To fail to win; fail in.
- Miss: To be unsuccessful; fail.
- Pass: To transfer a ball or puck to a teammate.
- Ride: To be carried or conveyed, as in a vehicle or on horseback.
- Save: To prevent (a goal) from being scored by an opponent.
- Score (a point / a goal): To gain (a point) in a game or contest.
- Serve: To put (a ball or shuttlecock) in play, as in tennis, badminton, or jai alai.
- Shoot: To throw or propel (a ball, marble, or other projectile in a game) in a specific direction or toward the objective.
- Skate: To glide swiftly on skates.
- Ski: To travel or glide on skis, especially as a sport.
- Swim: To move through water by means of the limbs, fins, or tail.
- Surf: To ride on or along (a wave) on a surfboard.
- Tackle: 1. The act of stopping an opposing player carrying the ball, especially by forcing the opponent to the ground, as in football or Rugby. 2. The act of obstructing a player in order to cause loss of possession of the ball, as in soccer.
- Volley: To strike (a tennis ball, for example) before it touches the ground.
