Athletics consists of sports such as running, the high jump, and the javelin.
Athletics is an uncount noun. You use a singular form of a verb with it.
Note that the American term for this is track and field.
Athletic is an adjective. It can mean 'relating to athletics'.
However, when you use athletic to describe a person, you mean that they are fit, healthy, and active. You do not mean that they take part in athletics.
| Noun | 1. | athletics - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competitionoffside - (sport) the mistake of occupying an illegal position on the playing field (in football, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey, etc.) wipeout - a spill in some sport (as a fall from a bicycle or while skiing or being capsized on a surfboard) toss, flip, pass - (sports) the act of throwing the ball to another member of your team; "the pass was fumbled" daisy cutter - a batted or served ball that skims along close to the ground call - (sports) the decision made by an umpire or referee; "he was ejected for protesting the call" funambulism, tightrope walking - walking on a tightrope or slack rope rock climbing - the sport or pastime of scaling rock masses on mountain sides (especially with the help of ropes and special equipment) birling, logrolling - rotating a log rapidly in the water (as a competitive sport) diversion, recreation - an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation" contact sport - a sport that necessarily involves body contact between opposing players field sport, outdoor sport - a sport that is played outdoors gymnastics, gymnastic exercise - a sport that involves exercises intended to display strength and balance and agility track and field - participating in athletic sports performed on a running track or on the field associated with it skiing - a sport in which participants must travel on skis aquatics, water sport - sports that involve bodies of water archery - the sport of shooting arrows with a bow sledding - the sport of riding on a sled or sleigh skating - the sport of gliding on skates racing - the sport of engaging in contests of speed equitation, horseback riding, riding - the sport of siting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements cycling - the sport of traveling on a bicycle or motorcycle blood sport - sport that involves killing animals (especially hunting) athletic game - a game involving athletic activity stroke, shot - (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand; "it took two strokes to get out of the bunker"; "a good shot requires good balance and tempo"; "he left me an almost impossible shot" position - (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player; "what position does he play?" foul - an act that violates the rules of a sport personal foul - a foul that involves unnecessarily rough contact (as in basketball or football) possession - (sport) the act of controlling the ball (or puck); "they took possession of the ball on their own goal line" judo - a sport adapted from jujitsu (using principles of not resisting) and similar to wrestling; developed in Japan spectator sport - a sport that many people find entertaining to watch team sport - a sport that involves competition between teams of players; "baseball is a team sport by golf is not" save - (sports) the act of preventing the opposition from scoring; "the goalie made a brilliant save"; "the relief pitcher got credit for a save" press box - box reserved for reporters (as at a sports event) tuck - (sports) a bodily position adopted in some sports (such as diving or skiing) in which the knees are bent and the thighs are drawn close to the chest game plan - (sports) a plan for achieving an objective in some sport won-lost record - (sports) a record of win versus losses English, side - (sports) the spin given to a ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist series - (sports) several contests played successively by the same teams; "the visiting team swept the series" trial - (sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications; "the trials for the semifinals began yesterday" defending team, defence, defense - (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense" bench warmer - (sports) a substitute who seldom plays free agent - (sports) a professional athlete who is free to sign a contract to play for any team ref, referee - (sports) the chief official (as in boxing or American football) who is expected to ensure fair play talent scout, scout - someone employed to discover and recruit talented persons (especially in the worlds of entertainment or sports) |
| 2. | athletics - a contest between athletes contest, competition - an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants decathlon - an athletic contest consisting of ten different events Olympic Games, Olympics, Olympiad - the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country Special Olympics - an athletic contest modeled after the Olympic Games but intended for mentally or physically handicapped persons prelim, preliminary - a minor match preceding the main event pentathlon - an athletic contest consisting of five different events meet, sports meeting - a meeting at which a number of athletic contests are held hop-step-and-jump, triple jump - an athletic contest in which a competitor must perform successively a hop and a step and a jump in continuous movement tug-of-war - a contest in which teams pull of opposite ends of a rope; the team dragged across a central line loses | |
| 3. | athletics - participation in sports events as an extracurricular activityextracurricular activity - educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum |