What does tourney mean?
Tourney is an informal English noun for a tournament, especially a golf, tennis, or similar sporting event. It is the shortened form of tournament and is widely understood in sports reporting and casual conversation, although tournament is the more formal and general choice. The word can also be used rarely as a verb, meaning to compete in a tournament. This usage is marked and appears less often than the noun. In modern usage, tourney conveys no special meaning beyond its concise, familiar tone; its historical associations with medieval mounted contests survive mainly in descriptions of tournaments as pageants of chivalry. In writing, tournament is generally preferable for formal announcements, encyclopedic discussion, or historical explanation, while tourney is natural in reports of a golf or tennis event. Both forms ultimately derive from Old French words associated with turning and circling, reflecting the movement of competitors in the original contests.
An informal name for a tournament or organized sporting competition, especially one involving golf or tennis.
"The tournament was postponed because of heavy rain."
Common in informal and sports contexts; tournament is preferred in formal and general writing.
To compete or participate in a tournament.
"The two teams tourneyed in the championship match."
Rare and marked; the noun use is substantially more common.
The standard plural of the noun is tourneys.
"The player won three tourneys during the season."
A tourney is a tournament with the formality trimmed off.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tourney come from?
The English words descend from Old French tournament and tourney, which were associated with tourner, “to turn,” from Latin tornare. In medieval usage, a tournament was a contest in which mounted knights displayed their martial skill, and the modern sense later broadened to organized sports competitions. Tourney became especially common as an informal sports word, while tournament remained the standard full form. Tourniquet and other English words such as tour and turn have the same ultimate Latin and French etymological root.
Related word forms
How tourney is actually used
The noun is informal but common in sports reporting and conversation; the standard, more general word is tournament. Verb use is rare and marked compared with the common noun.
Easily confused with tourney
Tournament is the standard full term, whereas tourney is its shorter and more informal form, especially in sports usage.