athlete

noun ath·lete \ ˈath-ˌlēt , nonstandard ˈa-thə-ˌlēt \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Definition of athlete

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 a 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

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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 of athlete from the Web

The elder Curry was drafted out of high school by the Rangers in the 37th round in 1982, but he was destined to be a two-sport athlete in college.

— john shea, SFChronicle.com, "Steph Curry’s dad, Dell, recalls baseball dreams and memories," 10 June 2018
Under the guise of amateurism, student athletes work long hours each day.

— william h. noack and don kusler, star-telegram, "Pro-con: Was Condoleezza Rice right in recommending that college athletes not be paid?," 8 June 2018
The elder Curry was drafted out of high school by the Rangers in the 37th round in 1982, but he was destined to be a two-sport athlete in college.

— john shea, San Francisco Chronicle, "Steph Curry’s dad, Dell, recalls baseball dreams and memories," 8 June 2018
Created by the Orange Bowl Committee, the award recognizes an outstanding South Florida student-athlete who displays valor and courage in the face of adversity.

— wells dusenbury, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Orange Bowl awards inaugural Beigel-Feis-Hixon Valor Award to Stoneman Douglas athlete," 6 June 2018
Last year, Williams was the only female athlete to make the list, with a salary of $28.9 million.

— sarah spellings, The Cut, "The Top 100 Highest-Paid Athletes Are All Men," 6 June 2018
The names of 8,279 student-athletes appear on these pages.

— union-tribune, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Union-Tribune honors 8,279 student-athletes," 5 June 2018
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first athlete to kneel during the National Anthem several years ago to protest injustices faced by people of color in America.

— jennifer calfas, Time, "NFL Players Association Responds as President Trump Criticizes Eagles Players for Snubbing White House," 5 June 2018
Wong is the type of student-athlete for which 24 hours in the day just doesn't seem like enough.

— curt hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "George Wong plays two spring sports and cares for his ailing grandmother at the same time. He'll be a threat to win the state tennis title," 31 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'athlete.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.