Main Entry: ²gymnastic

Function: noun

Date: 1652

1 plural but sing in constr a : physical exercises designed to develop strength and coordination b : a competitive sport in which individuals perform optional and prescribed acrobatic feats mostly on special apparatus in order to demonstrate strength, balance, and body control
2 : an exercise in intellectual or artistic dexterity <my earlier philosophic study had been an intellectual gymnastic — John Dewey> <mental gymnastics>
3 : a physical feat or contortion <the gymnastics necessary for the killer to have swung from the fire escape — E. D. Radin>