athlete
/ˈæθ.lit/noun
athlete is spelled A-T-H-L-E-T-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, athlete means “A participant in any of a group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country running and racewalking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of athlete is athletes.
How many letters and syllables are in athlete?
| Letters | 7: A-T-H-L-E-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,957th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is athlete?
Athlete appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce athlete?
- UK /ˈæθ.liːt/
- US /ˈæθ.lit/
- /ˈæθ.ə.liːt/
Athlete has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-athlete.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of athlete
- athletes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does athlete mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A participant in any of a group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country running and racewalking.
- 2
CanadaUSA person who actively participates in physical sports, especially with great skill; a sportsperson.
She's the first athlete in her sport to obtain a corporate sponsor.
- 3
An exceptionally physically fit person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Athlete in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | athlète , sportif, sportive |
| German | Athlet, Athletin, Sportler, Sportlerin |
| Portuguese | atleta |
| Spanish | atleta , persona atlética |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does athlete come from?
From Middle English athlete, from Latin āthlēta (and probably also partly from Middle French athlete), from Ancient Greek ἀθλητής (athlētḗs), from ἀθλέω (athléō, “compete for a prize”), from ἆθλον (âthlon, “prize”) or ἆθλος (âthlos, “competition”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).