# athlete vs athletic

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### athlete
*noun · IPA /ˈæθ.liːt/ · frequency rank #5,936*
A participant in any of a group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country running and racewalking.

### athletic
*adjective · IPA /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/ · frequency rank #5,855*
Having to do with athletes.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/athlete-vs-athletic