Paralympics

plural noun

Para·​lym·​pics ˌper-ə-ˈlim-piks How to pronounce Paralympics (audio)
ˌpa-rə-
: a series of international contests for athletes with disabilities that are associated with and held following the summer and winter Olympic Games

called also Paralympic Games

Paralympian noun
Paralympic adjective

Examples of Paralympics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As reported, last April Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 unveiled the Olympics and Paralympics torch via two simultaneous events at the Triennale Milano museum here and at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 15 July 2025 The 2026 Paralympics Winter Games will see athletes compete in six winter sports across three Italian regions in March 2026, and coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Winter Paralympics in Sweden in 1976. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025 His fashion is featured on runways, in retail stores and at the Olympics and Paralympics. Diane J. Cho, People.com, 28 June 2025 Mullins, a bilateral amputee, is known for completing the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta and playing the mother to Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven on Stranger Things. Shania Russell, EW.com, 23 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for Paralympics

Word History

Etymology

para(plegic) + (O)lympics, later interpreted as para- entry 1 in sense "alongside of" + (O)lympics

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Paralympics was in 1953

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Cite this Entry

“Paralympics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Paralympics. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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