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

And the fact that the school is in Durham, N.C., also helps because the state of North Carolina allows its college athletes to have sponsorships that extend beyond his time at Duke. —Jeff Fedotin, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025

The form resembles how other athletes run when fatigued, looks wasteful, and often, harshly, draws comparisons to Bambi on ice. —Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025

Powered by Maine, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agreed to comply with Trump's executive order to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports after much public back and forth. —Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2025

So if the investment is there, the games are available and women’s sports have never been more popular—why are athletes still struggling? —Haley Rosen, Sportico.com, 21 Mar. 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