Olympic Games - Vocabulary
Use this page to help you with any difficult vocabulary in the Olympic Games article. You can also check your knowledge of this vocabulary with our Olympics vocabulary test.
| word | contextual meaning |
|---|---|
| amateur | a person who does something without payment; not a professional |
| anthem | an important song (usually national) |
| banned | not allowed |
| broadcaster | a person who talks (often about sports and athletes) on television or radio |
| compete | to battle against another player |
| contestant | person who plays in a game |
| controversy | disagreement over an issue |
| doping | using illegal drugs in sport |
| facilities | buildings and places where events are held |
| fanfare | a piece of music that announces an important arrival |
| host | the country that holds the Games |
| humanity | all people |
| medal | a gold, silver, or bronze award given to a winner or runner up |
| motto | a personal belief that one shares, related to life |
| nationality | the country a person is from |
| oath | a promise |
| participant | someone who plays in a game |
| partisanship | unfair judging (usually for political reasons) |
| postpone | delay until later |
| preliminaries | tryouts |
| purity | total goodness |
| qualify | achieve the minimum requirement |
| representative | one person who speaks or acts on behalf of a team or group |
| security | people who control violence or rule-breaking and provide protection |
| spectator | a person who watches an event |
| sponsor(n) | a company that gives an athlete financial support in exchange for promoting clothes or other products |
| spokesman | a person (often an athlete) who represents a company in marketing or the media |
| sportsmanship | fairness and honesty in sports |
| stamina | having energy for a long time |
| standings | a record of athletes' performances |
| struggle | to work hard at something difficult |
| substitute | an extra team player used in emergencies |
| swifter | faster |
| symbol | an image that represents something |
| torch | a large flame on a stick |
| venue | the place where an event is held |
| victory | a win |