physique
Americannoun
-
physiques
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of physique
1820–30; < French < Latin physicus. See physic
Explanation
Physique is a word used to describe the form or shape of the human body. If you have a buff physique, you’re in great shape. Well done. Physique, pronounced "fiz-eek,” is from French for “physical.” Someone with a muscular physique has been getting physical in the gym. Everyone has a physique (except ghosts) but the word often refers to a muscular or well-sculpted body. Sometimes people who train for events like marathons or body-building competitions like to take pictures of their physiques before and after.
Vocabulary lists containing physique
And Then There Were None
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English Words Derived from French, List 4
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Dumplin'
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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.
See Examples For:
The players took part in a bleep test on Monday, won by Walsh, whose physique has developed significantly.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The president’s son called Navarro “my boy” and complimented him on the “jacked” physique he developed while in prison.
From Salon ● May 31, 2026
As I said, bulldogs have a unique physique that can age them more quickly.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
“When I played football, I never had the chance to build a physique like I wanted. After it ended, I started to build the physique I wanted, through the gym and working out,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
“Alfred was a man of powerful physique, and had the brains and executive powers of a major-general,” the tutor recalled.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
I look at some of the physiques that step up on stage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Only their toned physiques and rapper Joohoney’s punchy yellow hair give any signal of their pop star status.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
Excerpts from a women’s soccer match play on a screen; she says nothing, her slouching body in silent contrast to the athletes’ lean physiques.
From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
The Lip King's Instagram feed was flooded with before-and-after transformation photos of women with newly slimmed physiques and screenshots of text messages from customers raving about his product.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2023
This highly refined coordination and cooperation must be multiplied out across eight individuals of varying statures and physiques to make the most of each individual’s strengths.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
