marathon

mar·a·thon

noun, often attributive \ˈmer-ə-ˌthän, ˈma-rə-\

Definition of MARATHON

1

: a long-distance race:

a : a footrace run on an open course usually of 26 miles 385 yards (42.2 kilometers)

b : a race other than a footrace marked especially by great length

2

a : an endurance contest

b : something (as an event, activity, or session) characterized by great length or concentrated effort

Examples of MARATHON

1. We watched a marathon of our favorite movies.

Origin of MARATHON

Marathon, Greece, site of a victory of Greeks over Persians in 490 b.c., the news of which was carried to Athens by a long-distance runner

First Known Use: 1896

Rhymes with MARATHON

Abadan, Acheron, Ahriman, aileron, alençon, amazon, Amazon, amnion, and so on, antiphon, Aragon, autobahn, balmacaan, Bantustan, baryon, Basilan, bear down on, beat up on, betatron, biathlon, cabochon, call upon, calutron, carillon, carry-on, carry on, celadon, check up on, chorion, colophon, come upon, Culiacán, cyclotron, decagon, decathlon, demijohn, dine out on, early on, echelon, electron, elevon, enteron, epsilon, ethephon, etymon, fall back on, fermion, follow-on, Genghis Khan, get it on, go back on, going on, goings-on, gonfalon, Grand Teton, graviton, hanger-on, harijan, helicon, heptagon, hereupon, hexagon, hold out on, hopping John, Huascarán, hyperon, Isfahan, isochron, Kublai Khan, Kyrgyzstan, lay eyes on, Lebanon, leprechaun, liaison, Lipizzan, load up on, logion, looker-on, macédoine, Marathon, marzipan, mastodon, Mazatlán, Miquelon, miss out on, morion, move in on, myrmidon, nonagon, noumenon, nucleon, Oberon, octagon, off and on, omicron, Oregon, organon, ostracon, Pakistan, Palawan, pantheon, paragon, Parmesan, parmigiana, Parthenon, peloton, pentagon, pentathlon, Percheron, Phlegethon, Phocion, pick up on, polygon, positron, Procyon, put-upon, Rajasthan, Ramadan, ride herd on, run low on, run out on, run upon, set eyes on, set foot on, set upon, silicon, sneak up on, Süleyman, tachyon, Taiyuan, talkathon, telamon, telethon, thereupon, tie one on, triathlon, Tucumán, upsilon, virion, walkathon, walk out on, whereupon, woebegone, work upon, Yerevan, Xiangtan, Zahedan

Mar·a·thon

geographical name \ˈma-rə-ˌthän\

Definition of MARATHON

1

plain E Greece in Attica NE of Athens on the Aegean

2

ancient town on the plain

Rhymes with MARATHON

Abadan, Acheron, Ahriman, aileron, alençon, amazon, Amazon, amnion, and so on, antiphon, Aragon, autobahn, balmacaan, Bantustan, baryon, Basilan, bear down on, beat up on, betatron, biathlon, cabochon, call upon, calutron, carillon, carry-on, carry on, celadon, check up on, chorion, colophon, come upon, Culiacán, cyclotron, decagon, decathlon, demijohn, dine out on, early on, echelon, electron, elevon, enteron, epsilon, ethephon, etymon, fall back on, fermion, follow-on, Genghis Khan, get it on, go back on, going on, goings-on, gonfalon, Grand Teton, graviton, hanger-on, harijan, helicon, heptagon, hereupon, hexagon, hold out on, hopping John, Huascarán, hyperon, Isfahan, isochron, Kublai Khan, Kyrgyzstan, lay eyes on, Lebanon, leprechaun, liaison, Lipizzan, load up on, logion, looker-on, macédoine, marathon, marzipan, mastodon, Mazatlán, Miquelon, miss out on, morion, move in on, myrmidon, nonagon, noumenon, nucleon, Oberon, octagon, off and on, omicron, Oregon, organon, ostracon, Pakistan, Palawan, pantheon, paragon, Parmesan, parmigiana, Parthenon, peloton, pentagon, pentathlon, Percheron, Phlegethon, Phocion, pick up on, polygon, positron, Procyon, put-upon, Rajasthan, Ramadan, ride herd on, run low on, run out on, run upon, set eyes on, set foot on, set upon, silicon, sneak up on, Süleyman, tachyon, Taiyuan, talkathon, telamon, telethon, thereupon, tie one on, triathlon, Tucumán, upsilon, virion, walkathon, walk out on, whereupon, woebegone, work upon, Yerevan, Xiangtan, Zahedan

marathon

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Long-distance footrace run on an open course of 26 miles 385 yards (42.2 km). First held at the revived Olympic Games in 1896, it commemorates the legendary feat of a Greek soldier who is said to have run from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC, a distance of about 25 mi (40 km), to report the Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon, after which he dropped dead. Marathons today are usually open events for both men and women, often run by thousands of participants, including the venerable Boston Marathon (established 1897). The women's marathon became an Olympic event in 1984.