athletic

Meanings

1. Physically strong, fit and good at sports.
2. Relating to athletes or sports.

Example sentences

• "He has an athletic build and runs every morning."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

• "The school has a new athletic field."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

• "She was an athletic girl who loved to climb trees."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

• "I bought a pair of athletic shoes."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• sporty : Sporty is informal and means fond of sport. Athletic suggests real strength and skill.
• fit : Fit means healthy and strong. Athletic suggests the ability to do sport well.

Word family and forms

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "athletic".

• an athletic build
• athletic shoes
• an athletic club
• an athletic girl
• athletic skill
• naturally athletic

Origin

Athletic came into English around 1600 from Latin athleticus and Greek athletikos, meaning relating to an athlete. It is built from athlete plus the ending -ic. The Greek word athletes named a person who competed for a prize.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Athletic has athlete in it, with a small change at the end. An athlete is athletic.

Test yourself

Learn next at A1

• atlas A book of maps.
• attend To be present at an event, place, or gathering.
• attic The space just under the roof of a house, often used for storage.
• attraction A place or thing that draws people's interest, or a strong feeling of...
• august The eighth month of the year, often the last full month of summer holi...
• aunt The sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle.