fitness
Americannoun
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capability of the body of distributing inhaled oxygen to muscle tissue during increased physical effort.
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Also called Darwinian fitness. Biology.
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the genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation's gene pool relative to the average for the population, usually measured by the number of offspring or close kin that survive to reproductive age.
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the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations.
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noun
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the state of being fit
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biology
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the degree of adaptation of an organism to its environment, determined by its genetic constitution
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the ability of an organism to produce viable offspring capable of surviving to the next generation
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Etymology
Origin of fitness
Explanation
Fitness is good physical condition. If you're a fitness nut and you're constantly working out, everybody else at the gym might be eyeing your sculpted muscles with envy and marveling at your stamina and strength. Fitness can also refer to your being fit, or qualified, for something. If you show up in ragged jeans and a dirty t-shirt to interview for a job in the clean room of a microchip factory, your interviewer might question your fitness for the position. For a ship, fitness is a measure of whether it's seaworthy. In biology, an organism's fitness for a particular environment is its ability to survive and reproduce in those conditions.
Vocabulary lists containing fitness
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Physical Education - Introductory
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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.
A mutation that boosts fitness today may reduce fitness tomorrow.
From Science Daily • May 29, 2026
Requesting early renewals is highly unusual and often seen as a sign that the agency is preparing to challenge an owner’s fitness to hold a broadcast license.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
“There is clearly a shift from fitness tracker and fitness novelty to embedded health device,” said Shawn DuBravac, a futurist and former chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association.
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
Hiring a coach on a full-time basis, alongside a physiotherapist or fitness trainer, makes up the bulk of outgoings.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
The papers were full of questions about Pollard’s ability and fitness.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
