Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An enclosed area for the presentation of sports events and spectacles.
- noun A building housing such an area.
- noun A place or scene where forces contend or events unfold.
- noun The area in the center of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and other spectacles were held.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Are not.
- noun The inclosed space in the central part of the Roman amphitheaters, in which the combats of gladiators or wild beasts took place.
- noun Figuratively, the scene or theater of exertion or contest of any kind: as, the arena of war or of debate.
- noun In pathology, sand or gravel in the kidneys.
- noun In architecture, the main area of a temple, church, or other building.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Rom. Antiq.) The area in the central part of an amphitheater, in which the gladiators fought and other shows were exhibited; -- so called because it was covered with sand.
- noun Any place of public contest or exertion; any sphere of action
- noun (Med.) “Sand” or “gravel” in the kidneys.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
enclosed area , oftenoutdoor , for thepresentation ofsporting events (sports arena) or otherspectacular events;earthen area, oftenoval , specifically forrodeos (N. America) or circular area forbullfights (especially Hispanic America). - noun The
building housing such an area. - noun The
sand -covered centre of anamphitheatre wherecontests were held. - noun A realm in which important events unfold.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the central area of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and spectacles were held; especially an area that was strewn with sand
- noun a playing field where sports events take place
- noun a particular environment or walk of life
- noun a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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To say that Palm has some catching up to do in this arena is an understatement.
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The spokesman explained Daniels's mistake by saying, "The only cost estimate we know of in this arena is the Persian Gulf War, and that was a sixty-billion-dollar event."
Blind Into Baghdad 2004
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The spokesman explained Daniels's mistake by saying, "The only cost estimate we know of in this arena is the Persian Gulf War, and that was a sixty-billion-dollar event."
Blind Into Baghdad 2004
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The Ducks will still be on the historic losing spree and the new arena is far bigger than Mac Court and with far more expensive seats.
Paulson stadium scheme will still be a no-bid deal (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009
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The UO arena is going to fail and the Ducks will continue their historic series of losses.
Paulson stadium scheme will still be a no-bid deal (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009
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Hypocrisy in this arena is unfortunately what we in the mental health field call transference.
Matthew Yglesias » Bob McDonnell To Attempt First Non-Horrible SOTU Response in American History 2010
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The funds ten d to sell in the longer-term arena, helping to account for the largest declines taking place there.
Municipal Bonds Lose Ground Again Stan Rosenberg 2011
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Example of waste: UO arena is over a 300 million dollar money pit.
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The purpose of leadership in the space arena is to convince the political leadership that ISRU, In Situ Food Production, and reusable space systems are not science fiction.
NASA Faces Tough Choices & Needs an Administrator Now - NASA Watch 2009
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At times it seems that too many characters are capable of the perfect one-liner, but the political arena is appropriate for such nuanced dialogue.
oroboros commented on the word arena
"an era" in reverse
January 26, 2007
oroboros commented on the word arena
AREnA
April 26, 2008
oroboros commented on the word arena
"fan setting" (X-word clue)
September 27, 2009
bilby commented on the word arena
*groan*
September 27, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word arena
"1. The inclosed space in the central part of the Roman amphitheaters, in which the combats of gladiators or wild beasts took place. It was usually covered with sand or sawdust, to prevent the gladiators from slipping and to absorb the blood, and, for the protection of the spectators from the beasts, was surrounded by a high wall, which was often surmounted by a strong grating."
"3. In pathology, sand or gravel in the kidneys."
--both from the Century Dictionary
April 12, 2011