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If you've ever watched the Tour de France on television, you've seen the peloton, the brightly colored pack of riders making up the central group. You may have also gained some inadvertent insight into the word itself, which as you may have guessed is French in origin. In French, "peloton" literally means "ball," but it is most often used with the meaning "group." It's frequently used in the bicycling context, just as in English, but it can also refer to a group in a marathon or other sporting event. French peloton can also mean "squad" or "platoon," and since we’ve told you that you probably won’t be too surprised to learn that it is also the source of our word platoon.
Examples of peloton in a Sentence
William Roberson, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
First, Roglič and stage contender Tom Pidcock crashed and suffered punctures with 50km remaining, leaving the pair out of contention for the win — and facing a desperate battle to even regain contact with the peloton.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 19 May 2025
When the pro peloton hits these narrow and uncomfortably bumpy lanes, chaos ensues, and cyclists jostle for position while generating eye-popping amounts of power.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2025
Journalism broke well enough from his post in the two-hole, and jockey Umberto Rispoli settled him inside and back in the peloton, floating in and out of sixth in the nine-horse field, at times as much as five lengths off the lead.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for peloton
Cite this Entry
“Peloton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peloton. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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