Library / English Dictionary

GAME

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An amusement or pastime

Example:

his life was all fun and games

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

catch (a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth)

party game (a game to amuse guests at a party)

computer game; video game (a game played against a computer)

pinball; pinball game (a game played on a sloping board; the object is to propel marbles against pins or into pockets)

guessing game (a game in which participants compete to identify some obscurely indicated thing)

ducks and drakes (a game in which a flat stone is bounced along the surface of calm water)

mind game (any game designed to exercise the intellect)

hare and hounds; paper chase (an outdoor game; one group of players (the hares) start off on a long run scattering bits of paper (the scent) and pursuers (the hounds) try to catch them before they reach a designated spot)

ring-a-rosy; ring-around-a-rosy; ring-around-the-rosy (a children's game in which the players dance around in a circle and at a given signal all squat)

prisoner's base (a children's game; two teams capture opposing players by tagging them and taking them to their own base)

treasure hunt (a game in which players try to find hidden articles by using a series of clues)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A contest with rules to determine a winner

Example:

you need four people to play this game

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Domain member category:

game ((games) the score at a particular point or the score needed to win)

period of play; play; playing period ((in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds)

run off (decide (a contest or competition) by a runoff)

play out (play to a finish)

course (hunt with hounds)

defending (attempting to or designed to prevent an opponent from winning or scoring)

played ((of games) engaged in)

side (one of two or more contesting groups)

rematch; replay (something (especially a game) that is played again)

penalty ((games) a handicap or disadvantage that is imposed on a competitor (or a team) for an infraction of the rules of the game)

horn (a noisemaker (as at parties or games) that makes a loud noise when you blow through it)

game (the game equipment needed in order to play a particular game)

play; turn ((game) the activity of doing something in an agreed succession)

game (a single play of a sport or other contest)

move ((game) a player's turn to take some action permitted by the rules of the game)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

zero-sum game (a game in which the total of all the gains and losses is zero)

gambling game; game of chance (a game that involves gambling)

parlor game; parlour game (a game suitable for playing in a parlor)

table game (a game that is played on a table)

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

child's game (a game enjoyed by children)

athletic game (a game involving athletic activity)

pall-mall (a 17th century game; a wooden ball was driven along an alley with a mallet)

bowling (a game in which balls are rolled at an object or group of objects with the aim of knocking them over or moving them)

curling (a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A single play of a sport or other contest

Example:

the game lasted two hours

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

competition; contest (an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants)

Domain category:

game (a contest with rules to determine a winner)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

away game; road game (a game played away from home)

home game (a game played at home)

exhibition game; practice game (a game whose outcome is not recorded in the season's standing)

nightcap (the final game of a double header)

double feature; doubleheader; twin bill (two games instead of one (especially in baseball when the same two teams play two games on the same day))

playoff game (one game in the series of games constituting a playoff)

cup tie (an eliminating game between teams in a cup competition)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Frivolous or trifling behavior

Example:

for him, life is all fun and games

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

caper; frolic; gambol; play; romp (gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Your occupation or line of work

Example:

she's in show biz

Synonyms:

biz; game

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

business; job; line; line of work; occupation (the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Animal hunted for food or sport

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

game bird (any bird (as grouse or pheasant) that is hunted for sport)

big game (large animals that are hunted for sport)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The game equipment needed in order to play a particular game

Example:

the child received several games for his birthday

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

game equipment (equipment or apparatus used in playing a game)

Domain category:

game (a contest with rules to determine a winner)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

puzzle (a game that tests your ingenuity)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)

Example:

I saw through his little game from the start

Synonyms:

game; plot; secret plan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

scheme; strategy (an elaborate and systematic plan of action)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

counterplan; counterplot (a plot intended to subvert another plot)

intrigue; machination (a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends)

cabal; conspiracy (a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot))

Sense 9

Meaning:

The flesh of wild animals that is used for food

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

meat (the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "game"):

venison (meat from a deer used as food)

buffalo (meat from an American bison)

hare; rabbit (flesh of any of various rabbits or hares (wild or domesticated) eaten as food)

Derivation:

gamey; gamy ((used of the smell of meat) smelling spoiled or tainted)

Sense 10

Meaning:

(games) the score at a particular point or the score needed to win

Example:

he is serving for the game

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

score (a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest)

Domain category:

game (a contest with rules to determine a winner)

Sense 11

Meaning:

(tennis) a division of play during which one player serves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("game" is a kind of...):

division; part; section (one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole)

Domain category:

lawn tennis; tennis (a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court)

Holonyms ("game" is a part of...):

set (a unit of play in tennis or squash)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Willing to face danger

Synonyms:

game; gamey; gamy; gritty; mettlesome; spirited; spunky

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

brave; courageous (possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Disabled in the feet or legs

Example:

a game leg

Synonyms:

crippled; game; gimpy; halt; halting; lame

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

unfit (not in good physical or mental condition; out of condition)

Derivation:

gameness (disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Place a bet on

Example:

I'm betting on the new horse

Synonyms:

back; bet on; gage; game; punt; stake

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "game" is one way to...):

bet; play; wager (stake on the outcome of an issue)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "game"):

ante (place one's stake)

double up; parlay (stake winnings from one bet on a subsequent wager)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s on something

Derivation:

gaming (the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize))

Credits

 Context examples: 

As I can't, I'll merely say that I don't see any harm in that pleasant little game, if all parties understand that it's only play.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

There are quizzes, games and lots of cool web sites for you to explore.

(Children's Page, NIH)

In the end, with loud protestations that he could lose like a gentleman, the cook’s last money was staked on the game—and lost.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I know every move of your game.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His duty in the game is exactly to heal.

(Brazilian professor creates mobile game that combines fun with mathematics, Agência Brasil)

Then the huntsman promised to procure as much game for him as he could possibly use at the royal table.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

You might win big on a TV game show thanks to the trivia you know or the wise strategy you use to play the game.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

It was true the South Seas were calling to him, but he had a feeling that the game was not yet played out in the United States.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He knew that his own game was up, and was only anxious to revenge himself upon me.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“The game’s up, Ryder,” said Holmes quietly.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)