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If you've ever watched the Tour de France on television, you've seen the peloton, the brightly colored pack of riders making up the central group. You may have also gained some inadvertent insight into the word itself, which as you may have guessed is French in origin. In French, "peloton" literally means "ball," but it is most often used with the meaning "group." It's frequently used in the bicycling context, just as in English, but it can also refer to a group in a marathon or other sporting event. French peloton can also mean "squad" or "platoon," and since we’ve told you that you probably won’t be too surprised to learn that it is also the source of our word platoon.
Examples of peloton in a Sentence
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 3 July 2024
This year, the peloton of 20,000 will traverse a 434-mile route across the southern part of the state, with pit stops in Winterset, the birthplace of John Wayne, and Knoxville, home to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.
—Rolling Stone, 29 June 2024
The peloton passing through a sunflowers field during the stage eight of the 110th Tour de France in 2023.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 28 June 2024
But the film also focuses on the water carriers, the riders who fetch water for their team leaders, protect their position in the peloton, ride into the wind, and so much more.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for peloton 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'peloton.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Peloton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peloton. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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