bodybuilding

American

[bod-ee-bil-ding] / ˈbɒd iˌbɪl dɪŋ /

Or body-building,

noun

the act or practice of exercising, lifting weights, etc., so as to develop the muscles of the body.

Etymology

Origin of bodybuilding

1900–05; from the verb phrase build ( up one's ) body; see -ing ¹

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:

bodybuilding

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena won big at the Iron Gladiator bodybuilding competition last weekend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

Piker kicked off his Wednesday show by talking about his custom-tailored jacket and his bodybuilding workouts.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

And so now with bodybuilding, because my body has protected my soul my whole life, I’m honoring my body now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

In 2022, Baena competed on Season 31 of “Dancing With the Stars” and used his bodybuilding chops to pull off challenging lifts, basically bench-pressing his partner Alexis Warr mid-tango.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

His whole life he’d been skinny, and then a bodybuilding magazine found its way into his hands and changed his life.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023