adj.
Function: noun
Date: 1652
1 plural but singular in construction 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
2 : an exercise in intellectual or artistic dexterity <my earlier philosophic study had been an intellectual gymnastic ― John Dewey> <mental gymnastic s >
3 : a physical feat or contortion <the gymnastic s necessary for the killer to have swung from the fire escape ― E. D. Radin>