- a sport in which contestants race on foot over a course consisting of checkpoints found with the aid of a map and a compass
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
o•ri•en•teer•ing
(ôr′ē en tēr′ing, ōr′-),USA pronunciation n.
- Sporta competitive sport, originating in Sweden, that tests the skills of map reading and cross-country running, in which competitors race through an unknown area to find various checkpoints by using only a compass and topographical map, the winner being the finisher with the lowest elapsed time.
- alteration of Swedish orientering (conformed to -eer), equivalent. to orienter(a) orient (verb, verbal) + -ing -ing1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
orienteering /ˌɔːrɪənˈtɪərɪŋ/ n
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
orienteer /ˌɔːrɪənˈtɪə/ vb (intransitive)
- to take part in orienteering
- a person who takes part in orienteering
'orienteering' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):