gymnasium
1 Americannoun
-
gymnasiums,
plural
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gymnasia
plural
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a building or room designed and equipped for indoor sports, exercise, or physical education.
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a place where Greek youths met for exercise and discussion.
noun
-
gymnasiums,
plural
-
gymnasia
plural
noun
-
a large room or hall equipped with bars, weights, ropes, etc, for games or physical training
-
(in various European countries) a secondary school that prepares pupils for university
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gymnasium1
1590–1600; < Latin: a public school for gymnastics < Greek gymnásion gymnastic school (derivative of gymnázein to train in the nude
Origin of gymnasium2
1685–95; < German; special use of gymnasium 1
Explanation
A gymnasium is a place people go to exercise or participate in sports. Your neighborhood gymnasium might be a good place to play basketball, pump iron, or to check out the other gym rats. The more common gym is a shortened form of gymnasium. Most schools have a gymnasium, a room where physical education classes are held and games like dodge ball and volleyball can be played. People also belong to private gymnasiums, where they take yoga classes and run on treadmills and lift weights. In Latin, gymnasium means "school for gymnastics," from the Greek gymnasion, "public place where athletic exercises are practiced."
Vocabulary lists containing gymnasium
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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.
See Examples For:
The tower hosts an expansive gymnasium, with Peloton bikes facing Central Park, physical therapists and spacious locker rooms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
"There is a risk that the fire could reach homes, but we are deploying all available resources to protect them," he said, with a nearby gymnasium opened to accommodate those evacuating their homes.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
During the 1950s and 1960s, the team reconstructed a monumental bath gymnasium complex and the largest synagogue in the ancient world.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
Protesters have blocked access to an Olympic gymnasium that served as a vote-counting centre ever since.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
As he left the gymnasium, he noticed a large number of parked cars sitting beneath the street lights outside the locker room door.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
They might serve as rigorous gymnasia for the political imagination.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2014
As recently as 2006, the state's prisons held twice as many prisoners as they were meant to house, and inmate bunks were stacked in gymnasia and day rooms along with regular cells.
From Reuters ● Oct. 15, 2013
There were Italian youth groups from Foggia and Viterbo and Gubbio and Como, a delegation from a Wiesbaden publishing house, some doctors from Canada, and alumni from two gymnasia in Berlin.
From Time Magazine Archive
A lot of people see the "Y" only as a chain of economical young men's hotels, a place of gymnasia, swimming pools and evening classes.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Indian club is also in use in most gymnasia; but the risk of overstraining the body by its unskilful handling makes it less generally popular than the dumb-bell.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various
This is why the sight of empty seats in high school gymnasiums and muted cable coverage that tell a less flattering story cuts so deeply.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026
Emergency shelters were set up in schools and gymnasiums in southwestern France for tourists and residents left wondering what they would return to.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
What calls to mind phys ed and school gymnasiums more palpably than dodgeball?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2024
For several years, Blanc reclaimed her artistic agency by performing “La Douleur” in theaters, school gymnasiums and prisons, both in France and abroad.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
Auditoriums or gymnasiums all lighted up, the band’s chartered bus outside, the dressed-up, excited, local dancers pouring in.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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