Word
gymnastics
Phoneticsgym·nas·tics
US/dʒɪmˈnæstɪks/
UK/dʒɪmnˈɑːstɪks/
Definitions
01the sport
n. a sport that involves physical exercises like jumping, balancing, and swinging on bars.
n. a competitive sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, and kinesthetic awareness.
“She started gymnastics when she was five and now she is very flexible.”
“The young athlete spent years perfecting her gymnastics routine on the balance beam before competing at the national level.”
Usage
Treated as a singular noun when referring to the sport or discipline.
Pitfall
Gymnastics are my favourite sport.
Gymnastics is my favourite sport.
Although the word ends in 's', it is treated as a singular noun when referring to the sport itself.
Synonyms
02difficult mental or physical tasks
n. difficult or clever movements, or complicated ways of thinking about something.
n. complex intellectual, linguistic, or artistic exercises that require great agility or effort.
“The lawyer had to perform some mental gymnastics to explain why his client was innocent.”
“The author's latest novel is full of linguistic gymnastics that challenge even the most attentive readers.”
Formal
Teaching tip
Often used in the phrase 'mental gymnastics' to describe someone using complicated logic to justify a weak argument.
Synonyms
Etymology
From gymnastic: see -ics; from Latin gymnasticus, from Ancient Greek γυμναστικός (gumnastikós), from γυμναστής (gumnastḗs, “athlete, gymnast”), from γῠμνᾰ́ζω (gŭmnắzō, “to train, exercise”), from γυμνός (gumnós, “naked”), because Greek athletes trained naked. By surface analysis, gymnast + -ics.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/gymnastics