What does sportswear mean?
Sportswear is clothing intended for sport, exercise, or other athletic activity, including garments such as tracksuits, shorts, singlets, and performance shirts. The term may also refer to fashionable casual clothing that borrows an athletic appearance or prioritizes comfort and ease of movement. It is generally treated as an uncountable category rather than as a collection of individually countable objects, so English normally uses phrases such as “some sportswear” or “a range of sportswear” rather than counting individual garments with it. Sportswear should be distinguished from sports equipment: the former concerns what athletes or active people wear, while the latter concerns the tools and apparatus used in sport. In American English, “athletic wear” is especially common, whereas both “sportswear” and “activewear” are widely understood. The word is also common in commercial contexts, including references to brands, retailers, manufacturers, and the market for athletic clothing.
Clothing designed or commonly worn for athletic activity, exercise, or sport.
"The club requires players to arrive in matching sportswear."
Normally used as a mass noun; plural sportswears is uncommon.
Casual clothing designed in an athletic style, often emphasizing comfort and ease of movement.
"He combined sportswear with a tailored jacket for an understated look."
This extended sense is common in fashion, retail, and everyday usage.
Normally a mass noun with the same form in singular and plural contexts; plural sportswears is uncommon.
"The shop carries sportswear for runners, swimmers, and cyclists."
Sportswear covers what you wear to move; sports equipment covers what you move with.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sportswear come from?
Sportswear is a compound formed within English from sport and wear. The older element sport came through Old French from Latin disportare, a verb meaning to carry or carry out, which developed into the sense of amusement or pastime; wear has Germanic roots and refers to clothing or the act of dressing. The compound is associated with the late 19th-century expansion of organized sport and the manufacture of specialized clothing. Its first element is related to words such as disport, portable, and transport, all historically connected with Latin portare, “to carry.”
How sportswear is actually used
Sportswear is usually a mass noun, especially when referring to a category of clothing rather than individual garments. In American English, athletic wear is often the more usual general term.
Easily confused with sportswear
Sportswear means clothing worn for sport, whereas sports equipment means the equipment used to participate in a sport.
Activewear is clothing suitable for exercise or casual wear, while sportswear more specifically denotes clothing associated with sport.