physical education

noun

: instruction in the development and care of the body ranging from simple calisthenic exercises to a course of study providing training in hygiene, gymnastics, and the performance and management of athletic games

Did you know?

The Importance (Linguistic and Otherwise) of Physical Education

Physical education has existed since ancient times, but it wasn’t until several hundred years ago that the term itself (abbreviated as phys ed or PE) came into being. Its earliest known use comes, oddly enough, from a 1748 book titled Critical Reflections on Poetry, Painting, and Music: “Cannot some years prove more favorable than others to the physical education of children. . . ?” A few decades after these words were published, gymnasiums opened across Europe, especially in Germany, where gymnastics associations (or turnvereins) fostered physical health as well as civic involvement and cultural enrichment. Thanks in part to immigration, these clubs, and European enthusiasm for athletics in general, spread to the U.S. During the 19th century, American educators adopted European methods of teaching physical training, and both the word physical education and the phenomenon it represents became well established in this country.

Examples of physical education in a Sentence

He teaches physical education at the high school.

Recent Examples on the Web

Leavitt wrote in a post on X. The Presidential Fitness Test was a part of American physical education classes from the time it was first initiated by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 to the 2012-2013 school year. —Kayla Jimenez, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025

Advertisement In addition to reintroducing the test, Trump’s order directs the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition to develop criteria for the new Presidential Fitness Award and create school programs that reward excellence in physical education. —Nik Popli, Time, 31 July 2025

Trump’s executive order Thursday tasks the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition with developing criteria for a new Presidential Fitness Award and creating school programs that reward excellence in physical education. —Garrett Haake, NBC news, 31 July 2025

Jacque showed similar dedication as a physical education teacher at Tackan Elementary School and assistant varsity football coach at Smithtown West, his obituary said. —Rachel Raposas, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for physical education

• americanization
• anticoagulation
• antidiscrimination
• bioaccumulation
• bioremediation
• compartmentalization
• contextualization
• copolymerization
• decriminalization
• dehumidification
• demilitarization
• demineralization

Kids Definition

physical education

noun

: instruction in the care and development of the body