Phrase guide

sport one's oak

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌspɔːt wʌnz ˈəʊk/
  • General-American: /ˌspoɹt wʌnz ˈoʊk/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊk

1

verb

Meaning 1

To close one's door (originally the outer door of one's set of rooms in a college) as an indication that visitors are not welcome.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, intransitive

Qualifier: university slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sport timber

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From sport (“(archaic) to close or shut (a door)”) and oak (“outer (lockable) door of a set of rooms in a college (especially of the University of Cambridge or University of Oxford) or similar institution, especially one made of oak wood”). Compare French trouver visage de bois (“to find no one at home”, literally “to find a wooden face (that is, the door)”).

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: sulkea ovi — to close one’s door as an indication that visitors are not welcome