/ˈʤɪmˌnæst/ plural gymnasts. Britannica Dictionary definition of GYMNAST. [count] : a person who performs various physical exercises on a mat or on special equipment as part of an athletic competition : a person who participates in the sport of gymnastics.

The origin of gymnastics The word stems from the Greek word gymnos, or “naked,”—appropriate, since the youths trained in the nude, performing floor exercises, lifting weights, and racing one another. (How ancient Greeks mixed naked sports with pagan partying.) For the Greeks, exercise and learning went hand in hand.

a. : physical exercises designed to develop strength and coordination. b. : a competitive sport in which individuals perform optional and prescribed acrobatic feats mostly on special apparatus in order to demonstrate strength, balance, and body control.

Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abdominal muscle groups.