gymnasium

noun

gym·​na·​si·​um

sense 1

jim-ˈnā-zē-əm 

-zhəm;

sense 2 is usually

gim-ˈnä-zē-əm 

plural gymnasiums or gymnasia

sense 1

jim-ˈnā-zē-ə 

-zhə;

sense 2 is usually gim-ˈnä-zē-ə

1

a

: a large room used for various indoor sports (such as basketball or boxing) and usually equipped with gymnastic apparatus

b

: a building (as on a college campus) containing space and equipment for various indoor sports activities and usually including spectator accommodations, locker and shower rooms, offices, classrooms, and a swimming pool

2

[German, from Latin, school] : a European secondary school that prepares students for the university

Synonyms of gymnasium

• gym

Examples of gymnasium in a Sentence

since it was raining, the kids had recess in the gymnasium

Recent Examples on the Web

That month, at a high-school gymnasium in Hell’s Kitchen, Mayor Eric Adams held a community-affairs meeting with some constituents and local officials. —Adam Iscoe, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Juneau this spring, Morrison presented lawmakers with a giant light bulb, blackened by a short in the electrical wiring in the school's gymnasium ceiling. —Emily Schwing, NPR, 17 Nov. 2025

Fairfax High School gymnasium felt like the most intimate screening room in the city. —Mary Pelloni, IndieWire, 16 Nov. 2025

One of their early goals was to build a gym with the idea of transforming the traditional gymnasium into a space for developing upstanding young men. —Richard Selcer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, exercise ground, school, from Greek gymnasion, from gymnazein to exercise naked, from gymnos naked — more at naked

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

gymnasium

noun

gym·​na·​si·​um jim-ˈnā-zē-əm  -zhəm 

plural gymnasiums or gymnasia

-zē-ə, 

-zhə

: a room or building for sports activities

Etymology

from Latin gymnasium "exercise ground, school," from Greek gymnasion (same meaning), from gymnazein "to exercise naked," from gymnos "naked"