gym
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gym
First recorded in 1870–75; by shortening
Explanation
A gym is a building or room that's meant for playing indoor sports or exercising. You might go to the gym to pump iron, or you might go to the gym to see who else is pumping iron. The word gym is a shortened form of gymnasium, originally a Latin word meaning "school for gymnastics," from the Greek gymnasion, "public place where exercises are practiced." The preferred way to dress at a gym these days is in shorts or sweatpants, but back in Ancient Greece, men commonly exercised naked — hence the root gymnazein, "to train naked."
Vocabulary lists containing gym
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.
See Examples For:
Bandy found the move immediately challenging — from trying to figure out how to buy a gym locker to discovering her preferred grocery store, every task felt like extra work.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
Corpse flowers bloom for just 24 to 48 hours, and once opened, they reek of gym socks, rotten eggs and decaying flesh … or, well, a corpse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Parishioner-managed companies have purchased dozens more downtown, worth millions and housing offices, a Starbucks, a Thai restaurant and a gym.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Elsewhere in the main residence, there is a gym, an office, and multiple fireplaces that add a cozy feel to the living spaces.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
I have never been able to pay attention in gym.
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
Aguilar, 43, had amassed a sizable following as an influencer on Instagram and YouTube, where he spoke of overcoming poverty and addiction before creating a chain of gyms called Self Made Training Facility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
The funding will be used to accelerate Neura's activities, ranging from the deployment of robots to the rollout of "gyms" for clients to train bots, and the development of the company's physical AI systems.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
In keeping with this thrifty living, most of his exercise is done using free outdoor gyms, with his online followers holding him to account for that, too.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
At quarter end, Planet Fitness operated 2,909 gyms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
We were competing for the glory of our team, and all the major accolades went to our gyms.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
