Individual sport

How it is used

Used to contrast with team sports. Common when discussing responsibility, training style, motivation, and how results depend on one person's performance.

Example sentences

1. She switched from football to an individual sport because she preferred controlling her own schedule and race strategy.

   Here, individual sport highlights that performance decisions and competitive outcomes center on one athlete rather than a team.

2. In an individual sport, a bad start can feel more personal because there are no teammates to share the result.

   This example emphasizes the psychological side of competing alone, where responsibility is not spread across a group.

Common collocations

• compete in an individual sport
• individual sport athlete
• individual sport event

Related terms

• team sportA sport in which players play together as a team against another team, such as football, basketball, volleyball or handball.
• athleteA person who trains for and takes part in sport, especially at a competitive level; in British English it can also mean a track and field competitor.

More terms: Sports & Disciplines

• marathon
• triathlon
• martial arts
• track and field
• freestyle
• serve
• endurance sport
• combat sport
• racket sport
• water sport