stadium

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A large, usually open structure for sports events with tiered seating for spectators.
2. n. A course on which foot races were held in ancient Greece, usually semicircular and having tiers of seats for spectators.
3. n. An ancient Greek measure of distance, based on the length of such a course and equal to about 185 meters (607 feet).
4. n. Medicine A stage or period in the course of a disease.
5. n. Biology A stage in the development or life history of an organism.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A Greek itinerary unit, originally the distance between successive stations of the shouters and runners employed to estimate distances. The stadium of Eratosthenes seems to have been short of 520 English feet; but the stadium at the race-course at Athens has been found to be between 603 and 610 English feet. The Roman stadium was about the same length, being one eighth of a Roman mile.
2. n. Hence A Greek course for foot-racos, disposed on a level, with sloping banks or tiers of seats for spectators rising along its two sides and at one end, which was typically of semicircular plan. The course proper was exactly a stadium in length. The most celebrated stadia were those of Olympia and Athens.
3. n. A stage; period; in medicine, a stage or period of a disease, especially of an intermittent disease.
4. n. In zoology, same as stage, 9.
5. n. In entomology, same as instar.

Wiktionary

1. n. A venue where sporting events are held.
2. n. An ancient Greek race course, especially, the Olympic course for foot races.
3. n. now historical A Greek measure of length, being the chief one used for itinerary distances, also adopted by the Romans for nautical and astronomical measurements, equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman feet, or 125 Roman paces, or to 606 feet, 9 inches.
4. n. A kind of telemeter for measuring the distance of an object of known dimensions, by observing the angle it subtends.
5. n. In surveying, a graduated rod used to measure the distance of the place where it stands from an instrument having a telescope, by observing the number of the graduations of the rod that are seen between certain parallel wires (stadia wires) in the field of view of the telescope.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A Greek measure of length, being the chief one used for itinerary distances, also adopted by the Romans for nautical and astronomical measurements. It was equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman feet, or 125 Roman paces, or to 606 feet 9 inches English. This was also called the Olympic stadium, as being the exact length of the foot-race course at Olympia.
2. n. A race course; especially, the Olympic course for foot races.
3. n. A modern structure, with its inclosure, resembling the ancient stadium{2}, used for athletic games which are typically played out-of-doors; such stadiums are usually large structures without roofs, though some modern stadiums may have a protective dome overhead. It may be contrasted with the arena, the term commonly used for smaller structures at which indoor games are played.
4. n. A kind of telemeter for measuring the distance of an object of known dimensions, by observing the angle it subtends; especially (Surveying), a graduated rod used to measure the distance of the place where it stands from an instrument having a telescope, by observing the number of the graduations of the rod that are seen between certain parallel wires (stadia wires) in the field of view of the telescope; -- also called stadia, and stadia rod.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments