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
I’m sick and I went to the gym today.
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
Lampard usually arrives at Coventry's Sky Blue Lodge training ground about 7.30am and uses the gym before having breakfast with the squad.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
“We had English, then we had science, then we went to the gym . . . ” with no ups or downs or any part of the real me in there.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
