Definition of "pentathlon" [pen•tath•lon]

• A modern athletic contest, now generally limited to women's competition, in which each participant competes in five track and field events, usually the 200-meter and 1,500-meter runs, the long jump, and the discus and javelin throws. (noun)
• The modern pentathlon. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "problem with keeping the term pentathlon for the modified competition in which shooting and running are combined into a single contest."
• "The contestants compete in a pentathlon with Olympic skater Apolo Ohno as their coach."
• "The Olympic testing programme has been unfurling with a quiet precision and understated efficiency since May, such that the number of events that have already taken place, from modern pentathlon to mountain biking, would probably surprise you apparently there was even a trial of Wimbledon as the Olympic tennis venue – it was called the All England Championships and won by a Novak Djokovic."