Paralympics

American  

[par-uh-lim-piks] / ˌpær əˈlɪm pɪks /

plural noun

1. Paralympic Games.

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Paralympics British  

/ ˌpærəˈlɪmpɪks /

plural noun

1. Also known as: the Parallel Olympics.  a sporting event, modelled on the Olympic Games, held solely for disabled competitors

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Usage

What are the Paralympics? The Paralympics, formally called the Paralympic Games, are an international athletic competition featuring multiple sporting events between athletes with a range of bodily differences and disabilities. The event is modeled after the Olympic Games, featuring the world’s top athletes in their sports, with the top three finishers in each event being awarded medals: gold for first place, silver for second place, and bronze for third place. Like the Olympics, there are Winter and Summer versions of the Paralympics, and they are usually held after the corresponding Olympic event in the same city. The Winter Paralympics feature winter sports, including skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, and many others. The Summer Paralympics feature traditionally warm weather and indoor sports, like track and field, swimming, and wheelchair basketball, among many others. Eligibility for and competition in the Paralympics is based on categories that involve bodily differences and different types of disabilities, including those related to muscle power and movement, range of movement, limb differences, visual impairment, and intellectual disabilities. Athletes who compete in the Paralympics can be called Paralympians.

Etymology

Origin of Paralympics

C20: _parallel + _Olympics

Example Sentences

Tickets for the 2028 Paralympics, which will be the first in L.A.’s history, will go on sale in 2027.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

LA28 will have 14 million tickets available across the Olympics and Paralympics, so taken in total, the average ticket for the Games would have to be roughly $179 to reach the budget estimate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Olympics and Paralympics, at which time guests can look forward to expanded retail and dining offerings in the welcome pavilion, plus revamped galleries that allow for more contemporary presentation of the museum’s historic artifacts.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Athletes in T-shirts, fans applying suncream - have these been the Summer or Winter Paralympics?

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Nina Sparks became GB's first female snowboarder at a Paralympics, while English athletes took to the ice among GB curling rinks - usually an all-Scottish affair - at the Games for the first time.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026