Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

athlete

/ˈæθˌlit/

Press play to hear how to pronounce athlete.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:39
Watch on YouTube ↗
LISTEN FOR THIS

Connect “th” directly to “l.”

Use two vowel beats, with the first strongest. Move from the th sound straight into l without inserting an extra vowel between them, then finish with the long ee vowel and t.

2 syllables · Stress on syllable 1

TRY SAYING
The athlete warmed up before the race.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does athlete mean?

noun

  1. A participant in any of a group of sporting activities including track and field, road running, cross country running and racewalking.
  2. A person who actively participates in physical sports, especially with great skill; a sportsperson.
  3. An exceptionally physically fit person.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈæθˌlit/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈæθ.lit/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

“It would have been rather awkward,” remarked Brown, “if you had found he was a popular athlete practising a mile race.”
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) ChestertonThe wisdom of Father BrownProject Gutenberg ebook #223
Next we find him a trained athlete and skilled laborer, capable of applying himself to most anything he cares to do.
Charles A. (Charles Alexander) OliverABC's of ScienceProject Gutenberg ebook #1331
More book examples (3)
Altogether it was an exhausting pastime--fully equal to the American game of football and only the young athlete could really enjoy it.
Charles A. EastmanIndian BoyhoodProject Gutenberg ebook #337
It is a case of a great athlete making a second-class game first class, by sheer power of personality and fighting ability.
William T. (William Tatem) TildenThe Art of Lawn TennisProject Gutenberg ebook #1451
Then the athlete lay on his back for the rest of the day, while I finished alone the business we had come on.
Stewart Edward WhiteThe ForestProject Gutenberg ebook #9376