gymnasium
1 Americannoun
plural
gymnasiums, gymnasia-
a building or room designed and equipped for indoor sports, exercise, or physical education.
-
a place where Greek youths met for exercise and discussion.
noun
plural
gymnasiums, gymnasianoun
-
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
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
List 8
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List 9
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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.
He and others transported supplies into Iraq and provided security for private contractors, according to the article, which described a homecoming during which family members were reunited with servicemembers in a church gymnasium.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Twelve years before, during his 1988 presidential campaign, Jackson had packed 1,000 people into a Hazard, Kentucky, gymnasium and talked about the “false face of poverty” that had taken hold in American politics and media.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
The interiors of the home, however, were mostly created and shot on a soundstage built in a nearby abandoned high school gymnasium, where the film’s production offices were also located.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025
The density of the ornament is matched only by its cheapness, with chalices lined up on the mantelpiece like the decorator raided the trophy case of a middle-school gymnasium.
From Slate • Aug. 5, 2025
When I walked into the gymnasium on the first day, the talent I saw on the floor overwhelmed me.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
