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individual medley

American  

noun

Swimming.

  1. 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.

Yu, who turned 13 in October, swam an impressive 2:07:41 to claim gold in the women's 200 metre individual medley on Tuesday.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

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

From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025

McIntosh won the 200-meter individual medley in 2 minutes, 5.7 seconds.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2025

Maskill also won silver in both the 200m freestyle S14 and the 200m individual medley S14.

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2024

The trio of Rhys Darbey, William Ellard and Cameron Vearncombe are all in the men's SM14 200m individual medley final after finishing among the top six in qualifying.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2024

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.