Did you know?
The name of the martial art wushu derives from the Beijing dialect of Chinese, where it was formed by combining the words for "martial" or "military" ("wǔ") and "art" ("shù"). This form of hand-to-hand combat (known more familiarly as "kung fu") was highly developed in China by the 3rd century B.C.E, and it is credited with influencing other martial arts that arose within Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Modern wushu, however, has separated itself from traditional kung fu to emphasize aesthetics and performance. One of the more well-known divisions of wushu is tai chi, the ancient discipline of meditative movements practiced as a system of exercises.
Examples of wushu in a Sentence
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 16 Oct. 2025
Camel racing, wushu, and Esports spice up the Games
Football is king in many OIC countries, and the beautiful game is felt and understood there in a way many Olympic sports are not.
—Blythe Lawrence, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Her teachers have ranged from vogue queens to competitive wushu champions, and she’s immersed herself in both street and élite contemporary dance scenes.
—Puja Patel, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2025
Action fans simply seeking top-drawer wushu combat should be satisfied, but general viewers may grow impatient with a repetitive plot that struggles to deliver compelling human drama from its promising elements.
—Richard Kuipers, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
Liu describes it as a mix of Northern Shaolin kung fu and wushu styles.
—EW.com, 29 Jan. 2024
Tae kwon do, kickboxing, wushu, kung fu, jeet kune do, capoeira, krav maga.
—Joshua St. Clair, Men's Health, 24 Mar. 2023
Along with surfing and climbing, in the running to become new events are baseball/softball, bowling, karate, roller sports, squash, and wushu.
—The Editors, Outside Online, 24 June 2015
Cite this Entry
“Wushu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wushu. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share