# tennis

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɛnɪs/ · frequency rank #3,986

## Definitions
1. A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets.
2. A match in this sport.
3. An earlier game in which a ball is driven to and fro, or kept in motion by striking it with a racquet or with the open hand.

## Etymology
From Middle English tennys, teneys, tenis, from Old French tenez (second-person plural imperative of tenir (“to hold”)).

## Easily confused with
- **tens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tennis-vs-tens)
- **tents** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tennis-vs-tents)
- **Tunis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tennis-vs-tunis)
- **Tetris** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tennis-vs-tetris)
- **tenses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tennis-vs-tenses)
- **teens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/teens-vs-tennis)
- **tends** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tends-vs-tennis)
- **tenets** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tenets-vs-tennis)
- **tenner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tenner-vs-tennis)

## Common misspellings (7)
`etnnis`, `tenins`, `tenis`, `tenniss`, `tennsi`, `tnenis`, `ttennis`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tennis