in the Middle Ages, a high fence of stakes enclosing the area for a tournament
b.
this area itself or the tournament held there
2.
any place or realm of combat, conflict, etc.
Idioms:
enter the lists
Word origin
ME listes, specialized use of liste, border, hedging, boundary (see list1), prob. infl. by OFr lisse (Fr lice) in same sense < Frank *listia < Gmc *lista, list1
Examples of 'lists' in a sentence
lists
There was the whispering of mental arithmetic as they wrote down their lists.
Cassidy, Anne IN REAL LIFE (2002)
Now, with everything current taken care of, Desmond sat in front of the TV and he made his lists.
Duncan, Robert L THE SERPENT'S MARK (2002)
To write out planting lists at the start of the gardening season.
Nicola Barker BEHINDLINGS (2002)
The one on the right subdivided into sixty-four squares, the monitor on the left drew down three script lists.