athlete
Americannoun
noun
-
a person trained to compete in sports or exercises involving physical strength, speed, or endurance
-
a person who has a natural aptitude for physical activities
-
a competitor in track and field events
Pronunciation
Athlete, athletic, and athletics, normally pronounced , , and , are heard frequently with an epenthetic schwa, an intrusive unstressed vowel inserted between the first and second syllables: , , and . The pronunciations containing the extra syllable are usually considered nonstandard, in spite of their widespread use on radio and television. Pronunciations with similarly intrusive vowels are also heard, though with less currency, for other words, as for film, for elm, and for arthritis, rather than the standard , , and .
Other Word Forms
- nonathlete noun
- superathlete noun
Etymology
Origin of athlete
1520–30; < Latin āthlēta < Greek āthlētḗs, equivalent to āthlē- (variant stem of āthleîn to contend for a prize, derivative of âthlos a contest) + -tēs suffix of agency
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yes, some people hung on to the information for weeks of athletes playing in outside leagues in violation of CIF bylaw 600, which isn’t good.
From Los Angeles Times
I also kind of approach it in an athletic way, because my family, they’re all athletes.
From Los Angeles Times
Results will be keenly followed back home in Pyongyang, where Lee says both men and women professional athletes are treated with respect.
From Barron's
When Taylor hangs up her gloves, she will do so as one of the greatest boxers of all time and, perhaps, as the greatest athlete Ireland has ever produced.
From BBC
“That may make a noticeable difference in a professional athlete,” said Dr. Tom DiLiberti, an orthopaedic surgeon in Dallas who performs hamate procedures on major leaguers.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
