olympiad

noun

olym·​pi·​ad ə-ˈlim-pē-ˌad 

ō-

often capitalized

1

: one of the 4-year intervals between Olympic Games by which time was reckoned in ancient Greece

2

: a quadrennial celebration of the modern Olympic Games

also : a competition or series of competitions resembling an olympiad especially in variety or challenge

Examples of olympiad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The o1 model is a substantial leap forward here; as demonstrated by its performance in the 2024 AIME high-school math olympiad – a three-hour competition-grade math challenge that's only open to the best of the best American math students. —New Atlas, 13 Sep. 2024

Between the lines: Haffey has photographed nearly every sport across 10 olympiads (both summer and winter), plus World Surf League stops in California and two surfing world championships. —Kate Murphy, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024

That's when Sneha Mohan and Michael Kim, who now recently finished up the eighth grade, and other Science Olympiads at Daniel Wright, presented the coaches with an offer. —Ronnie Wachter, chicagotribune.com, 9 June 2017

But a calling is a calling, and Ms. Benton answered hers, entering scholarship competitions and arts Olympiads until she was accepted into the acting conservatory at Carnegie Mellon. —Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 11 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Olympias, from Latin Olympiad-, Olympias, from Greek, from Olympia, site of ancient Olympic Games

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

olympiad

noun

olym·​pi·​ad ə-ˈlim-pē-ˌad 

ō-

often capitalized

1

: one of the four-year periods between Olympic Games

2

: a celebration of the modern Olympic Games

also : a competition similar or compared to the Olympic Games

the school's math olympiad