athlete

noun

ath·​lete ˈath-ˌlēt 

nonstandard

ˈa-thə-ˌlēt 

1

: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

2

: an animal (such as a horse or a dog) that competes in races or other sporting events or has qualities (such as stamina and agility) suggestive of a human athlete

Hospice working dogs were wiry, muscular, agile, yellowish-tan or brown athletes with unexaggerated heads …

—Deborah Lawson

Examples of athlete in a Sentence

Athletes from around the world will be competing at the Olympics.

She was quite an athlete as a child.

Recent Examples on the Web

The vanity often attributed to bodybuilders has everything to do with their concern for their outward shape; they’re seen less as athletes than as models, which is to say, as women. —Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 10 May 2025

Like her older sisters Elle and Jane, Hansen has helped carry on a winning tradition at Cohasset as a hybrid athlete with the ability to perform just about anything on the field with success. —Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025

Though the growth was benign, the experience was a wake-up call that even athletes aren’t immune to health breakdowns when rest, nutrition, and balance are neglected. —Sixteen Ramos, USA Today, 10 May 2025

Our coaches have such deep empathy for our student athletes. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 10 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin athleta, from Greek athlētēs, from athlein to contend for a prize, from athlon prize, contest

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing athlete

• athlete's foot

Rhymes for athlete

• amit
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compete
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete
• crabmeat

Kids Definition

athlete

noun

ath·​lete ˈath-ˌlēt 

: a person who is trained in or good at games and exercises that require physical skill, endurance, and strength