athlete

athlete — noun

1. someone who trains seriously for sport, has strong physical ability, and often e

1.nounB1
Definition

someone who trains seriously for sport, has strong physical ability, and often enters races, games, or other competitions

Example

The young athlete trains on the track before school each morning.

collocation: young athlete

At sixteen, Mei became the fastest athlete in her town.

Common collocations
  • professional athlete
  • elite athlete
  • young athlete
  • injured athlete
  • Olympic athlete
Synonyms
  • sportsperson

    a neutral general word, but it sounds more formal and is less common in everyday use

  • competitor

    stresses taking part in a contest, not overall sporting ability or training

  • player

    more natural for someone in a particular team or ball sport

  • runner

    much narrower, and only fits running events

Grammar Patterns

a professional athlete

an athlete from [place]

train like an athlete

Usage Note

Often used for people who train or compete in sport in general, especially in running, jumping, and similar events. For one specific team sport, a narrower word like player may sound more natural.

Common Mistakes

My sister is a great athlete on the school basketball team.
My sister is a great basketball player on the school team.
athlete is possible, but player is usually more natural for one specific team sport.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, athlete is a broad word for someone trained for sport and strong physical performance. Sportsperson is close in meaning, but it sounds more formal and is less common in everyday speech. Competitor only tells you that the person is taking part in a contest; it does not always suggest training or high ability. Player is often better when you mean one particular team or ball sport, such as football or tennis. Runner is narrower still, because it only fits running events. You can call an Olympic swimmer an athlete, but on match day you would usually call her a player or a swimmer, not just a competitor.

athlete ↗sportspersoncompetitor ↗player ↗runner ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • professional athlete
  • elite athlete
  • student athlete

Prepositions

  • athlete from
  • athlete in
  • athlete for

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

Athlete came into English from Latin, which had taken it from Greek. In Greek, the word referred to a person who competed for a prize in games or contests. English kept that central idea and now uses athlete for a person trained for sport and competition.