parkour

American

[pahr-koor, -kawr, -kohr] / pɑrˈkʊər, -ˈkɔr, -ˈkoʊr /

noun

the sport of moving along a route, typically in a city, trying to get around or through various obstacles in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, as by jumping, climbing, or running.

his amazing parkour skills.

parkour British

/ ˈpɑːkˌɔː /

noun

Also called: free running. the sport or activity of running through urban areas while performing various gymnastic manoeuvres over or on man-made obstacles such as walls and buildings

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

parkours

plural

Etymology

Origin of parkour

2000-05; alteration of French parcours course, route < Medieval Latin percursus < Latin percurrere to run through < per- through + currere to run

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.

Downs: On “Broad City,” I had to learn and do parkour.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2025

As well as live music, there are dozens of events, including parkour, football, arts and crafts, and yoga.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2024

And then he does a bunch of parkour moves.

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2024

The aspiring shaman has some nifty parkour skills as well as sun and moon masks, which allow him to, respectively, launch spears and manipulate time as he fights evil spirits.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2024

I looked it up and it’s about parkour, which is a kind of street gymnastics, which explains how he’s able to do all the crazy stuff that he does.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon

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