gymnastics

[jim-nas-tiks]

noun

1. (used with a plural verb),  gymnastic exercises.

2. (used with a singular verb),  the practice art, or competitive sport of gymnastic exercises.

3. (used with a plural verb),  mental feats or other exercises of skill.

   Verbal gymnastics.

gymnastics

/ dʒɪmˈnæstɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) practice or training in exercises that develop physical strength and agility or mental capacity

2. (functioning as plural) gymnastic exercises

Word History and Origins

Origin of gymnastics¹

First recorded in 1645–55; gymnastic, -ics

Example Sentences

After finishing as runner-up to national champion Oklahoma, the women’s gymnastics team will welcome a top recruiting class plus the return of two-time Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles.

From Los Angeles Times

However, it was gymnastics that left the biggest impression.

From BBC

"It was great to have men's and women gymnastics combine. I think the competition worked really well and it's exciting for the future."

From BBC

U.S. gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton, on oxygen, speaks for the first time since spending several weeks in intensive care with a rare form of pneumonia in the fall.

From Los Angeles Times

From world championships in figure skating and gymnastics, to the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991 along with 14 Olympics, she has enjoyed a stellar career.

From BBC

When To Use

What does gymnastics mean?

Gymnastics is a sport involving tests and demonstrations of balance, strength, and agility through physical exercises, many of which are performed using special equipment.Skills performed in gymnastics include rhythmic dance, feats of strength and balance, and highly athletic and artistic body movements, such as vaults, flips, twists, and other aerial maneuvers.The gymnastics events at the Summer Olympic Games are widely considered to feature the highest level of international competition. They consist of three separate competitions: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline gymnastics.The most well-known form of gymnastics is artistic gymnastics, and this is the sport that’s most often simply referred to as gymnastics. It includes several different competitive events, including floor exercise, vault, parallel bars, uneven bars, horizontal bar, balance beam, rings, and pommel horseRhythmic gymnastics involves dancelike movements while handling objects such as balls, hoops, and ribbons. Trampoline gymnastics involves performing acrobatics with the aid of a trampoline.Athletes who compete in the sport of gymnastics are called gymnasts.The word gymnastics is also sometimes used in a figurative way to refer to the exercise of skill in some (usually difficult) task or action, as in I bet that took quite a bit of mental gymnastics. Example: In the history of gymnastics, there has never been another gymnast quite like Simone Biles.