Is swimming a game?

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shiqangpan
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Is swimming a game?

Post by shiqangpan »

According to Cambridge Dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dic ... lish/sport, a "sport" is
a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job
while a "game" is
a particular competition, match, or occasion when people play a game
, eg, a game of chess/tennis/baseball.

So swimming is a sport, as it's in accordance with the definition above.

Is swimming is also a game?
patron
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by patron »

Although you can have a swimming competition or event, it is not considered to be a game.

It 'an activity where you propel or move through water using your arms and legs.

It is a sport and you can have have swimming competitions. e,g races.

The activity of swimming can also take place during a game e.g water polo.

Running is also not a game, but people run in a soccer game.
shiqangpan
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by shiqangpan »

Thank you. Is it because there would be a winner or tie at the end of a sport while a game doesn't necessarily have?
patron
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by patron »

I can understand your confusion about the difference between what a games is and what a sport is.

There are many different definitions of both in dictionaries and on English websites.

In general both sports and games can have winners and losers and both are usually competitive.

The word sport or sports includes games.

e.g Soccer is my favourite sport and tonight I am going to watch the Barcelona game.

Here game is specific describing a specific competition in which Barcelona is playing.

Swimming or running are activities and both can be used in a sport or game.
e.g you run to play the game of soccer.
e.g you swim to pin a game of water polo.
You could say that both running and swimming are activities which are used in sports and games.

Here is a link to a site that might help you understand all of this much better. I hope it helps.
https://learnersdictionary.com/qa/What- ... and-Sports
shiqangpan
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by shiqangpan »

Thank you. That’s very kind of you.

I understand the difference between games and sports in terms of whether involving physical activities.

In the tutorial https://learnersdictionary.com/qa/What- ... and-Sports, running itself, not running in football games is considered a sport, is my understanding correct?
patron
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by patron »

Yes, running can be considered to be sport if the running is competitive and there are winners and losers. For example, a marathon running race is a sport, but not a game.

Games usually involve more than one person playing together as a team e.g soccer, cricket, hockey, basketball teams,

Games can also include two people playing against each other e.g chess, cards,checkers etc.

In everyday English the difference between games and sports is very subtle which is why people get confused.

The main thing to remember is that sport includes games (probably with few exceptions).

Running and swimming are both sports activities/ events that we see at the Olympic games. However the running and swimming events are not considered to be games.
shiqangpan
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by shiqangpan »

Thanks for your excellent explanation. That’s very kind of you.
patron
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Re: Is swimming a game?

Post by patron »

I am very happy to help.

You ask some great questions.

Unfortunately, English doesn't always use words that are clearly defined, and some words like sport and games
can overlap in meaning. I think many words like these are just learnt through experience.
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