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:
Training has included physical testing, gym work, small-sided games, finishing drills and a mixture of single and double sessions.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
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
“I just completed my yardwork today. And this was immediately after a hard gym session.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
It was hot outside when I trotted across the yard in gym class and heard Jeff say, “How did she get that way?”
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
Texas barbecue, ranch dressing, endless refills—in England, asking for a refill is like “asking for a second mortgage” said one video—huge portions, 24-hour gyms, Buc-ee’s, Costco, Chick-fil-A.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
He represents some of the world’s top boxers through Mayweather Promotions and owns roughly 75 gyms around the country along with real estate holdings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 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
Some gyms now stay open all hours, night and day.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Scattered over it were jungle gyms and tall swings, sandboxes, slides and a baseball diamond.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
