Gym

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Gym

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

jim  /dʒɪm/

Definition

Short for gymnasium; a room or building equipped for physical exercise and training; a fitness club or health club; (British school) a lesson in physical education.

Plain meaning

A gym is a place equipped for physical exercise — either the school gymnasium or the commercial fitness centre you join for a monthly fee. Going to the gym has become one of the most common phrases in modern wellness culture.

Register

Informal to neutral. Gym is the universally used shortening of gymnasium in everyday British English. Going to the gym, gym membership, gym clothes, gym selfie: the word is central to contemporary wellness culture and discourse.