- 1a person who competes in sports Olympic athletes Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveelite, fine, good, … athlete + verbtrain, compete, perform, … See full entry See related entries: Exercise
- 2(British English) a person who competes in sports such as running and jumping Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveelite, fine, good, … athlete + verbtrain, compete, perform, … See full entry See related entries: Athletics
- 3a person who is good at sports and physical exercise She is a natural athlete. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveelite, fine, good, … athlete + verbtrain, compete, perform, … See full entry Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin athleta, from Greek athlētēs, from athlein ‘compete for a prize’, from athlon ‘prize’. Wordfindersportathlete, champion, compete, fixture, match, record, spectator, sport, stadium, tournamentExtra examples She has the build and strength of a natural athlete. The athletes are training hard for the Olympics. athletes playing pro football one of the greatest athletes of all time It’s clear that he’s a natural athlete. Several Olympic athletes were accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs. She’s a superbly gifted all-round athlete.
athlete
nounBrE BrE//ˈæθliːt//; NAmE NAmE//ˈæθliːt//
Athletics, ExerciseCheck pronunciation: athlete
