athlete

American  

[ath-leet] / ˈæθ lit /

noun

• athletes
  plural

1. a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

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athlete British  

/ ˈæθliːt /

noun

1. a person trained to compete in sports or exercises involving physical strength, speed, or endurance

2. a person who has a natural aptitude for physical activities

3. a competitor in track and field events

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Pronunciation

Athlete, athletic, and athletics, normally pronounced , , and , are heard frequently with an epenthetic schwa, an intrusive unstressed vowel inserted between the first and second syllables: , , and . The pronunciations containing the extra syllable are usually considered nonstandard, in spite of their widespread use on radio and television. Pronunciations with similarly intrusive vowels are also heard, though with less currency, for other words, as for film, for elm, and for arthritis, rather than the standard , , and .

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonathlete
  noun
• superathlete
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• athletes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of athlete

1520–30; < Latin āthlēta < Greek āthlētḗs, equivalent to āthlē- (variant stem of āthleîn to contend for a prize, derivative of âthlos a contest) + -tēs suffix of agency

Explanation

An athlete is someone who trains for and competes in sporting events, as a professional or just for fun, like an athlete who bowls on a team, runs in local 5K races, or wins a gold medal at the Olympics. The noun athlete comes from the Greek word athletes, meaning “contestant in the games.” Anyone who competes in sporting competitions can be called an athlete, but usually the term is reserved for people with a high level of dedication, skill and fitness. If your income comes from participating in your sport, you are a professional athlete.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

athlete athletes

"I have been coming here since English schools. I have been coming here a long time and I have been an athlete for a long time. It has been great to experience the stadium."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Teenage athlete Dennis Castillo spent 28 excruciating hours trapped under the rubble in quake-hit Venezuela, with a beam crushing her left leg as she waited to be rescued.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Having this season become the fastest athlete since the world record was set 43 years ago, Werro finished strong to land her first senior international title in a championship record one minute 54.81 seconds.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

And, despite a dad bod that hardly made him look like an elite athlete, Skenes did it by throwing hard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

I wrote this book because I wanted to chronicle my quest to challenge society’s limited perceptions of what a Muslim woman, a Black woman, or an athlete can be.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

The priciest options are designed especially for athletes, and Dos Santos -- who himself lost two legs in a car accident -- has visited this cohort following the quakes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

"I think athletes need to be remembering it needs to be something that works for them," the 24-year-old says.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

They say practice makes perfect, but for some athletes that means more than just training to be as fast as possible.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurrence suggested a different path forward: Colleges and athletes could resolve compensation questions through collective bargaining or negotiated agreement, as professional football and basketball players do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The bleachers had already filled with athletes and their parents.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Related Words

• animal
• competitor
• contestant
• jock
• player
• professional
• sport