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

professional athletes

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

Analyzing top player movement Changing schools is extremely common, with more than 17,000 athletes in Texas filling out a prior athletic participation form (PAPF) this past year, according to UIL executive director Jamie Harrison. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 July 2026

Hyperice and Nike worked with Dutch soccer star Virgil van Dijk and American track athlete Tara Woodhall on the project because their recovery routines fit the Hyperslide ethos. — Tim Newcomb, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Stahl believes conference-wide bargaining is more likely to succeed by taking the athlete-school relationship out of the equation. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 July 2026

These women of the W aren’t the only professional athletes to point out their icy relationship with their commissioner. — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 July 2026

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