SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

the discus

Definition of the discus

:an athletic event in which people compete by trying to throw a discus (a heavy flat round object) farther than everyone else

winner of the discus

Word by Word Definitions

discus play

: a heavy disk (as of wood or plastic) that is thicker in the center than at the perimeter and that is hurled for distance as a track-and-field event

See the full definition of discus

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up the discus? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

knee-jerk

play

readily predictable

Words at Play

alt-59ea52ed7b96f

Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Why do we call students 'freshmen' and 'sophomores'?

alt-59e900afadac6

The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

alt-59e8c3440f453

I'll Have the Us(ual)

Shortening 'usual': easy to say, hard to spell

alt-59e77dc36c593

The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots

The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz

knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus

Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz

Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz

Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game