decathlon
22
5.0
- noun
- /dɪˈkæθlən/
- He trained for months to prepare for the decathlon, hoping to improve his personal best across all events.
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Watch on YouTubeBut I still winning decathlons and you get way more points for the speed and jumping events.
- But I still winning decathlons and you get way more points for the speed and jumping events.
- But at the very end, when I was a senior, I trained for the decathlete decathlon and I learned a pole vault for the discus, you know, stuff like that.
Examples
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Joyner-Kersee is one of the world's most successful athletes and has dominated the women's decathlon for many years.
Blog text (18) -
We begin at a school that is holding an academic decathlon trial.
Blog text (12) -
I really want to pass the decathlon.
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In the forest, we had held a decathlon.
Fiction book (1997) -
It means an academic decathlon: one day, ten events, testing all the knowledge one would gain in high school.
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In the decathlon, Thorpe earned 8,412 points and established a world record.
Blog text (16) -
Ashton Eaton has a good chance to win gold in the decathlon in London, after setting a world record at the trials.
Blog text (13) -
In the summer Olympics, athletes from around the world compete in the decathlon, showcasing their skills in ten different events.
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During the decathlon, participants must complete events like the long jump and the 1500 meters in just two days.
Synonyms
3
2.7
A contest where athletes compete in sports such as running or jumping
2
2.5
A competition where people or teams compete in sports
Surface Forms
Morphology
decathlon = deca + athlon
The word is built from Greek combining forms meaning 'ten' + 'contest/prize'; '-athlon' is not a standalone English word but appears in related terms (e.g., 'triathlon'), so speakers who know those forms can infer the meaning, while others cannot.
Etymology
Decathlon comes from Greek parts deca- meaning 'ten' and -athlon meaning 'contest' or 'prize', the same idea you see in triathlon, a contest with three events. So a decathlon is a competition made of ten track and field events.