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

No matter the temperature, the goal is still the same for athletes. — Ubah Ali, CBS News, 14 July 2026

Elite athletes know the challenges from an injury that sidelines them from their sport, requires physical rehabilitation and leaves their ability to return to competition in doubt. — ABC News, 13 July 2026

The harsh reality is that the DEC and SEC decisions have little to do with the athletes themselves. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 July 2026

Lakutsin was in town to watch the competition; not everyone who was enhanced at the Enhanced Games was an athlete. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 13 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