gym
Americannoun
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.
"It might have started as 'here's my gym routine, here's my skincare routine,'" Mrozinski says.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
You gotta sleep, you gotta take your vitamins, you gotta go the gym.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The layout includes a library gallery, TV room, gym, laundry, garden room, storage room, and three-car garage.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026
Initially aiming for sports or gym work, Ben shifted towards respiratory and stroke care after hospital placements, finding it "really rewarding".
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
In short order they found the gymnasium by following the scent of gym shoes.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
