What does "gymnastics" mean?

1. (the sport) a sport that involves physical exercises like jumping, balancing, and swinging on bars. 2. (difficult mental or physical tasks) difficult or clever movements, or complicated ways of thinking about something.

How do you use "gymnastics"?

Treated as a singular noun when referring to the sport or discipline.

Is it correct to say "Gymnastics are my favourite sport."?

No — say "Gymnastics is my favourite sport.". Although the word ends in 's', it is treated as a singular noun when referring to the sport itself.

gymnastics

US //dʒɪmˈnæstɪks// UK //dʒɪmnˈɑːstɪks// gym·nas·tics

1 the sport (n.)
B1 Intermediate Sport

a sport that involves physical exercises like jumping, balancing, and swinging on bars.

a competitive sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, and kinesthetic awareness.

Example

She started gymnastics when she was five and now she is very flexible.

Example

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.
- acrobatics
- athletics
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.
2 difficult mental or physical tasks (n.)
C1 Advanced Formal

difficult or clever movements, or complicated ways of thinking about something.

complex intellectual, linguistic, or artistic exercises that require great agility or effort.

Example

The lawyer had to perform some mental gymnastics to explain why his client was innocent.

Example

The author's latest novel is full of linguistic gymnastics that challenge even the most attentive readers.

Teacher's tip

Often used in the phrase 'mental gymnastics' to describe someone using complicated logic to justify a weak argument.
- manoeuvres
- feats

Origin

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.

Last updated June 20, 2026