A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept is the FIFA World Cup for association football, which is widely known simply as "the World Cup." However, there are a number of notable popular team sports competitions labeled "world cups", such as the ICC Cricket World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Rugby League World Cup, and the Hockey World Cup.

A world cup is generally, though not always, considered the premier competition in its sport, with the victor attaining the highest honour in that sport and able to lay claim to the title of their sport's best. However, in some sports the Olympic title carries at least as much prestige, while other sports such as diving and artistic gymnastics differentiate between their premier competitions, such as World Championships and Olympic Games, and their "World Cup", which is organised as a smaller scale but high-level showcase event with small elite fields.