athlete

[ath-leet]

noun

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.

athlete

/ 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

Pronunciation Note

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of athlete¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of athlete¹

C18: from Latin via Greek athlētēs, from athlein to compete for a prize, from athlos a contest

Example Sentences

"You don't normally get an exchange student player who is such a high calibre athlete," he recalled.

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The adjustments less than two weeks before the Games begin were "to ensure safety for athletes, officials and spectators", SEA Games Thailand 2025 said in a Facebook post Thursday.

Read more on Barron's

Beijing also hosted the world's first-ever humanoid robot games in August, where more than 500 "athletes" vied in disciplines ranging from basketball to competitive cleaning.

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“Still the same athlete, still capable of making plays with his feet,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

More than 400 athletes from nearly 40 countries took part in this year's event, which organisers describe as "one of the pinnacles of the strength world".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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