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individual medley

American

noun

Swimming.

a race in which the total distance is either divided into three equal portions, in which each swimmer uses the backstroke for the first portion, the breaststroke for the second portion, and the freestyle for the third, or the total distance is divided into four equal portions, in which each swimmer uses the butterfly stroke for the first portion and then the other strokes used follow the same pattern as in the three-part medley.

Etymology

Origin of individual medley

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

Marchand, now training in Austin with former Michael Phelps coach Bob Bowman, added the victory to the 200m and 400m individual medley titles he captured earlier this week.

From Barron's • Jan. 18, 2026

He opted out of the 100m individual medley on Friday and went for the 400m freestyle.

From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025

In Monday's individual medley final, Yu missed out on a medal by 0.06 seconds with another fourth-placed finish.

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2025

Granada Hills won all three relays and sophomore Isabella San Jose won the 200 individual medley in 2:08.62 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.69, then anchored the 4x100 freestyle relay.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2025

Toni Shaw finished second in her SM9 200m individual medley heat to qualify for the final at 17:55.

From BBC • Sep. 5, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023