Olympiad

American  

[uh-lim-pee-ad, oh-lim-] / əˈlɪm piˌæd, oʊˈlɪm- /

noun

(often lowercase)

1. a period of four years reckoned from one celebration of the Olympic Games to the next, by which the Greeks computed time from 776 b.c.

2. a celebration of the modern Olympic Games.

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Olympiad British  

/ əˈlɪmpɪˌæd /

noun

1. a staging of the modern Olympic Games

2. the four-year period between consecutive celebrations of the Olympic Games; a unit of ancient Greek chronology dating back to 776 _bc

3. an international contest in chess, bridge, etc

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Usage

What does Olympiad mean? An Olympiad is one of the events known as the Olympic Games, an international athletic competition featuring multiple sporting events between athletes representing their country. The Olympic Games are commonly called the Olympics and are sometimes referred to as the Games of the Olympiad, often incorporating the number of the current event. For example, the official name given to the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was the Games of the XXXII (32nd) Olympiad. There are two related but separate events that can be called an Olympiad: one hosted in winter, called the Winter Games, and one hosted in summer, called the Summer Games (they are commonly called the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics). The Winter Olympics feature winter sports, including figure skating, skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, and many others. The Summer Olympics feature traditionally warm weather and indoor sports, like track and field, gymnastics, swimming, and basketball, among many others. Olympiads are now usually staggered: there is usually two years between the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics, with each being held every four years (usually in even-numbered years). The Summer Olympics are usually in July and August and the Winter Olympics are usually held in February. The modern Olympics are based on an ancient Greek festival and competition that’s also referred to as the Olympic Games. In this context, the word Olympiad refers to the four-year period between consecutive celebrations of the Olympic Games. The ancient Greeks actually used the four-year period known as the Olympiad as a unit of time (in a way similar to how we use a decade as a unit of 10 years). The word Olympiad is sometimes used in a more general way in the names of other competitions, such as a Chess Olympiad.

Other Word Forms

• Olympiadic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Olympiad

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin Olympiad-, stem of Olympias < Greek Olympiás noun use of the adj.: of Olympus. See Olympia, -ad ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Olympiad

In 2024, a Google DeepMind model performed well enough at the International Mathematical Olympiad to win a silver medal of its own.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

They also couldn’t win gold at the math Olympiad or crack any of math’s famous mysteries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Give him a year of focus and he’d perfect the thousands of folds required to make a paper samurai worthy of gold at the Origami Olympiad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Le co-wrote and advised Google’s AI systems that won gold-medal status at the International Mathematical Olympiad and have solved Olympiad-level geometry problems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Then driving off as Lily just stood there watching until he turned down Olympiad.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English