GAME

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does game mean? 

• GAME (noun)
  The noun GAME has 11 senses:

1. a contest with rules to determine a winner

2. a single play of a sport or other contest

3. an amusement or pastime

4. animal hunted for food or sport

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

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

7. the flesh of wild animals that is used for food

8. a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)

9. the game equipment needed in order to play a particular game

10. your occupation or line of work

11. frivolous or trifling behavior

  Familiarity information: GAME used as a noun is familiar.

• GAME (adjective)
  The adjective GAME has 2 senses:

1. disabled in the feet or legs

2. willing to face danger

  Familiarity information: GAME used as an adjective is rare.

• GAME (verb)
  The verb GAME has 1 sense:

1. place a bet on

  Familiarity information: GAME used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GAME (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A contest with rules to determine a winner

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

you need four people to play this game

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)

played ((of games) engaged in)

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)

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

side (one of two or more contesting groups)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

child's game (a game enjoyed by children)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A single play of a sport or other contest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the game lasted two hours

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 3

Meaning:

An amusement or pastime

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

his life was all fun and games

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"):

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)

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

Sense 4

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"):

big game (large animals that are hunted for sport)

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

Sense 5

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)

Sense 6

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Context example:

he is serving for the game

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 7

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 8

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

game; plot; secret plan

Context example:

I saw through his little game from the start

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 game equipment needed in order to play a particular game

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

the child received several games for his birthday

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 10

Meaning:

Your occupation or line of work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

biz; game

Context example:

she's in show biz

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 11

Meaning:

Frivolous or trifling behavior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

for him, life is all fun and games

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

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

• GAME (adjective)

Declension: comparative and superlative

Sense 1

Meaning:

Disabled in the feet or legs

Synonyms:

crippled; game; gimpy; halt; halting; lame

Context example:

a game leg

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Willing to face danger

Synonyms:

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

Similar:

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

• GAME (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Place a bet on

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

I'm betting on the new horse

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))

 Context examples 

Well, you played your round game out again.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Used as personal organisers, to store names and addresses, play games, access the Internet,etc.

(Palmtop, NCI Thesaurus)

This was a new scene to us mountaineers; the majestic oaks, the quantity of game, and the herds of stately deer were all novelties to us.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Well, if I speak back, pikes will be going in two shakes; if I don't, Silver will see there's something under that, and the game's up.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Functional Activities Questionnaire-NACC Version (FAQ-NACC Version) Playing a game of skill, working on a hobby.

(FAQ-NACC Version - Play Game of Skill, Work on Hobby, NCI Thesaurus)

"Great Scott! Is this a game?"

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Parents should limit TV, video game and computer time.

(Exercise for Children, NIH)

He had killed man, the noblest game of all, and he had killed in the face of the law of club and fang.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Well, Mr. Holmes, I supped there, as the vicar has said, and my elder brother George proposed a game of whist afterwards.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They're scattered an' rangin' along wide, he said: keeping up with us an' lookin' for game at the same time.

(White Fang, by Jack London)