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

On the one hand, oxidative stress acts as a trigger to tell the body to rebuild and develop mitochondria in the cells — improving an athlete’s endurance capacity. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

About 7% of high school athletes go on to compete in any sport in college, according to NCAA participation data, and less than 2% receive an academic scholarship. — Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026

Today, a Bay Area athlete impersonation case has gone from strange to stranger-than-fiction. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026

Corona del Mar has three standout athletes in tight end Jake Haley, receiver Tucker Murray and linebacker Nolan Scott. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 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