gymnasium

noun

gym·​na·​si·​um

sense 1

jim-ˈnā-zē-əm 

-zhəm;

sense 2 is usually

gim-ˈnä-zē-əm 

plural gymnasiums or gymnasia

sense 1

jim-ˈnā-zē-ə 

-zhə;

 sense 2 is usually  gim-ˈnä-zē-ə

1

a

: a large room used for various indoor sports (such as basketball or boxing) and usually equipped with gymnastic apparatus

b

: a building (as on a college campus) containing space and equipment for various indoor sports activities and usually including spectator accommodations, locker and shower rooms, offices, classrooms, and a swimming pool

2

[German, from Latin, school] : a European secondary school that prepares students for the university

Synonyms

• gym

Examples of gymnasium in a Sentence

since it was raining, the kids had recess in the gymnasium

Recent Examples on the Web

Updates include a new cafeteria space, a new two-story wing, an agricultural lab with welding booths, an auxiliary gymnasium, music and band classrooms, a construction lab and more. —Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2025

After dinner, campers get their first real glimpse of what the weekend is about when they’re corralled into the gymnasium. —Rachel Hale, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025

In front is the palaestra, an area that would’ve been used for wrestling and combat training and which today is littered with pieces of the gymnasium’s terracotta roof tiles. —Barry Neild, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025

Byron High School in Minnesota, for example, sold naming rights to its gymnasium to Scheels in a deal worth $12,000 a year. —Jaime Catmull, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, exercise ground, school, from Greek gymnasion, from gymnazein to exercise naked, from gymnos naked — more at naked

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

gymnasium

noun

gym·​na·​si·​um jim-ˈnā-zē-əm  -zhəm 

plural gymnasiums or gymnasia

-zē-ə,

-zhə

: a room or building for sports activities

Etymology

from Latin gymnasium "exercise ground, school," from Greek gymnasion (same meaning), from gymnazein "to exercise naked," from gymnos "naked"