athlete

American  

[ath-leet] / ˈæθ lit /

noun

• athletes
  plural

1. 

   a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

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athlete British  

/ ˈæθliːt /

noun

1. a person trained to compete in sports or exercises involving physical strength, speed, or endurance

2. a person who has a natural aptitude for physical activities

3. a competitor in track and field events

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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

Derived Forms

• nonathlete
  noun
• superathlete
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• athletes
  plural

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

Explanation

An athlete is someone who trains for and competes in sporting events, as a professional or just for fun, like an athlete who bowls on a team, runs in local 5K races, or wins a gold medal at the Olympics. The noun athlete comes from the Greek word athletes, meaning “contestant in the games.” Anyone who competes in sporting competitions can be called an athlete, but usually the term is reserved for people with a high level of dedication, skill and fitness. If your income comes from participating in your sport, you are a professional athlete.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

athlete athletes

Although he grew up in a close family in San Mateo, Calif., his three older sisters loved teasing “Little Tommy” that he was the worst athlete in the family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

"We want flag football's elite, and we want the cross-sport athlete who doesn't even know yet that flag is their sport."

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

In it, Tinoco’s sister wrote that Abigail was a graduate of Downey High School and an athlete on the track and cross-country teams before she attended UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

By high school, my health and hair returned and I was an athlete.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

He was good at chess, and he was a natural scholar and athlete.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

It is also exploring opportunities for athletes to return clothing they no longer need.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

A summer social-media campaign titled “Cropaganda” made light of meat industry lobbying groups, while other recent posts have featured high-performance athletes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

This time, Beyond plans to focus more on user-generated content from athletes, bodybuilders and dietary influencers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Participation has boomed in Australia and scores of athletes are switching from Australian rules football, netball and rugby, while the American team has recruited basketball players.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The paper doesn’t feature nearly enough profiles of student athletes.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• animal
• competitor
• contestant
• jock
• player
• professional
• sport