pilates

P3I1L1A1T1E1S1
/pɪˈlɑːtiːz/

noun

A physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates.

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Less commonScrabble 9

Meanings

pilates1

nounpilates (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of Pilates.

    "And they don't do pilates, they do yoga," the voiceover man says.

    2009 February 13, By staff writers, “TMZ makes joke apology video for Sam the koala”, in Herald Sun

Pilates2

nounPilates (uncountable)

alternative pilates

  1. uncountableA physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates.

    "Watto will spend the entire winter stretching and doing Pilates, and do a hamstring after bending down to pick up his petrol cap after dropping it filling his car at Caltex Cronulla."

    2014 April 14, Matt Cleary, “What do Australia's cricketers do on holiday?”, in ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 21 Jul 2015

    Synonyms: Contrology

  2. broadlyuncountableAny of various systems modified from that original version, especially in the decades since this name became genericized.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates.

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Origin

Named after German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, who developed the original version and called it Contrology. The eponymous name has had trademark protection in various jurisdictions; such protection has lapsed in some jurisdictions but may possibly persist in others.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 普拉提, 彼拉提斯
  • 普拉提 (pǔlātí)physical fitness system
  • 彼拉提斯 (bǐlātísī)physical fitness system
Finnish pilates
  • pilatesphysical fitness system
French Pilates
  • Pilatesphysical fitness system
Hindi पिलाटीज़
  • पिलाटीज़ (pilāṭīz)physical fitness system
Japanese ピラティス
  • ピラティス (piratisu)physical fitness system
Korean 필라테스
  • 필라테스 (pillateseu)physical fitness system
Polish pilates
  • pilatesphysical fitness system
Portuguese pilates
  • pilatesphysical fitness system
Spanish pilates
  • pilatesphysical fitness system
Swedish pilates
  • pilatesphysical fitness system

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

pilates. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilates

MLA

“pilates.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilates. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pilates,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilates.

Source: pilates on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.