weightlifter
Americannoun
Explanation
A weightlifter is an athlete who picks up and holds a very heavy barbell. Weightlifters compete to see which of them can heave the heaviest load. Weightlifters compete in many competitions, including the Olympics. These powerful athletes are able to lift enormous amounts of weight, often grunting loudly while they do so. Olympic weightlifters have three chances to lift a barbell weighing anywhere from 100 to 250 pounds. If you do bicep curls at home with 20-pound weights, you can still call yourself a weightlifter!
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.
Like when a weightlifter staggered under a puny-looking barbell, then dropped it, tripped over it and landed face first.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
He has said those featured on his helmet include teenage weightlifter Alina Peregudova, boxer Pavlo Ishchenko and ice hockey player Oleksiy Loginov, adding that some of them were his friends.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a different gender category in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
To date, one openly transgender female athlete has competed in a women’s category at the Olympics: New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, at the Tokyo Games in the summer of 2021.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2025
I squat and stand, sure I look like a weightlifter at the Olympics as my legs wobble.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
