arena

/əˈrinə/

/əˈrinə/

Other forms: arenas

If you're watching a college basketball game in person, chances are you're in an arena — a building specially designed for sporting events and large-scale rock concerts.

There's not much difference between an arena and a stadium, although an arena is enclosed and a stadium sometimes has an open roof. Football is usually played in a stadium, while basketball and other sports typically hold their games in arenas. The word arena originally meant "place of combat," and it's sometimes still used this way. Its root is harena, a kind of sand that was supposedly used on the floor during ancient Roman battles to soak up spilled blood.

Definitions of arena

1. noun

   a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments
   synonyms: bowl, sports stadium, stadium

   types:

   amphitheater, amphitheatre, coliseum

   an oval large stadium with tiers of seats; an arena in which contests and spectacles are held

   ballpark, park

   a facility in which ball games are played (especially baseball games)

   bullring

   a stadium where bullfights take place

   circus

   (antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games

   covered stadium, dome, domed stadium

   a stadium that has a roof

   football stadium

   a stadium where football games are held

   hippodrome

   a stadium for horse shows or horse races

   skybox

   an elevated box for viewing events at a sports stadium

   type of:

   construction, structure

   a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts
2. noun

   a playing field where sports events take place
   synonyms: scene of action

   types:

   circus

   an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent

   type of:

   athletic field, field, playing area, playing field

   a piece of land prepared for playing a game
3. noun

   the central area of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and spectacles were held; especially an area that was strewn with sand
   type of:

   area, country

   a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
4. noun

   a particular environment or walk of life
   synonyms: area, domain, field, orbit, sphere

   types:

   distaff

   the sphere of work by women

   front

   a sphere of activity involving effort

   kingdom, land, realm

   a domain in which something is dominant

   lap

   an area of control or responsibility

   political arena, political sphere

   a sphere of intense political activity

   preserve

   a domain that seems to be specially reserved for someone

   province, responsibility

   the proper sphere or extent of your activities

   lotus land, lotusland

   an idyllic realm of contentment and self-indulgence

   lap of the gods

   beyond human control or responsibility

   ecclesiastical province

   the district within the jurisdiction of an archbishop or a metropolitan or one of the territorial divisions of an ecclesiastical order

   type of:

   environment

   the totality of surrounding conditions