Sports Vocabulary: Essential Terms and Phrases
Sports Vocabulary
Essential Terms and Phrases
Competition and Achievement
Go for gold: Try to win (tratar de ganar)
Alike: (after verb) Similar (por igual)
Award: Prize (premio, galardón)
Beat: Defeat or do better than (ganar, derrotar)
Break a record: To do something that has never been done before (batir un récord)
Championship: A high-level competition to find the best (campeonato)
Cheer: To give a loud shout of encouragement (animar)
Cope with: To successfully deal with a difficult situation or problem (hacer frente a; sobrellevar)
Defeat: To win against someone in a fight, war, or competition (derrotar, vencer)
Display: (verb) To demonstrate, to show (mostrar, manifestar)
Effort: Attempt (intento, esfuerzo)
Esteemed: Highly respected (considerado, reconocido)
Go wild: Get very excited, to respond enthusiastically (volverse loco; estallar de júbilo)
Hire: Give someone a job/position (contratar, fichar)
Humble: Modest, not proud (humilde)
In a row: Lined up, one after the other (consecutivo, seguido)
(be) in the lead: To be in a winning position, to be ahead of the others (ir a la/en cabeza)
Let (someone) down: Disappoint someone, to break a promise (decepcionar, defraudar a alguien)
No matter: It’s not a problem, it won’t make a difference (sin importar, independientemente)
Opponent: A rival, someone you are against in a sports event (adversario, contrincante)
Score: Earn points (marcar, anotar un gol)
Sign: Indication (indicio, señal, símbolo, cartel)
Spectator: People watching an event (espectador)
Speed: How fast something moves (velocidad)
Sportsmanship: Fair behavior when playing sports (deportividad)
Strength: Power (fortaleza)
Tournament: A competition with a series of games (torneo)
Trophy: A prize cup (trofeo)
Willing: To be happy to do something (dispuesto)
Qualities and Attributes
Extraordinary: Very unusual (extraordinario, increíble)
Gifted: To be very clever, very skilled, or talented (con talento)
Influential: To have a lot of influence on someone or something (influyente)
Legendary: Very famous and admired (legendario, famoso)
Odd: Strange, unexpected (raro, extraño)
Revolutionize: To completely change something so that it is better (revolucionar)
Spectacular: Very exciting to look at, especially great (espectacular)
Symbol: A token, it represents something (símbolo, signo)
Technique: A way of doing something (técnica)
Worship: To adore, idolize someone or something (idolatrar)
Additional Terms
Stunning: Very impressive (increíble)
Turnaround: A complete reversal of a situation (cambio de rumbo, giro radical)
Guidelines: Principles (pautas, directrices)
Ties: Connections (lazos)
Policy: Plan of action (política)
Have an inflated ego: Creerse muy importante
Outlook: Attitude
Secure: (verb) Make safe (asegurar)
Common Phrases
The vast majority: (la inmensa mayoría)
Be badly injured: (estar gravemente herido)
Be well aware: (plenamente consciente)
Be highly unlikely: (muy poco probable)
At top speed: (a la velocidad máxima)
Be way ahead: (estar muy por delante)
Be fast asleep: (profundamente dormido)
Heavy traffic: (tráfico intenso)
A bright future: (gran futuro)
Be in poor health: (tener problemas de salud)
A valid point: (un punto valioso, un buen punto)
A slight accent: (un ligero acento)
Rapid growth: (rápido crecimiento)
Wide awake: (totalmente despierto)
Pleasantly surprised: (agradablemente sorprendido)
Long jump: (salto de longitud)
People and Roles
Finish line: Meta
Role model: Ejemplo, modelo
Superstar: Estrella, astro
Runner-up: Subcampeón, segundo
Teammates: Compañeros de equipo
Outcome: Resultado
Kick-off: Saque inicial
Chairman: Presidente
Stopwatch: Cronómetro
Synonyms
Original: Innovative, inventive
Important: Influential, significant
Quick: Immediate, instant
Amazing: Spectacular, phenomenal
Unbelievable: Extraordinary, incredible
Many: Numerous, countless
Clever: Brilliant, gifted
Difficult: Tough, serious