Library / English Dictionary |
HERO
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
Irregular inflected form: heroes
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("hero" is a kind of...):
character; part; persona; role; theatrical role (an actor's portrayal of someone in a play)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States
Synonyms:
bomber; Cuban sandwich; grinder; hero; hero sandwich; hoagie; hoagy; Italian sandwich; poor boy; sub; submarine; submarine sandwich; torpedo; wedge; zep
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Hypernyms ("hero" is a kind of...):
sandwich (two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(Greek mythology) priestess of Aphrodite who killed herself when her lover Leander drowned while trying to swim the Hellespont to see her
Classified under:
Instance hypernyms:
mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)
Domain category:
Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Someone who fights for a cause
Synonyms:
champion; fighter; hero; paladin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("hero" is a kind of...):
defender; guardian; protector; shielder (a person who cares for persons or property)
Derivation:
heroical (having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("hero" is a kind of...):
mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)
Domain category:
classical mythology (the system of mythology of the Greeks and Romans together; much of Roman mythology (especially the gods) was borrowed from the Greeks)
Derivation:
heroical (having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
Example:
RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("hero" is a kind of...):
leader (a person who rules or guides or inspires others)
Instance hyponyms:
Armin; Arminius; Hermann (German hero; leader at the battle of Teutoburger Wald in AD 9 (circa 18 BC - AD 19))
Job (a Jewish hero in the Old Testament who maintained his faith in God in spite of afflictions that tested him)
Derivation:
heroical (having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Greek mathematician and inventor who devised a way to determine the area of a triangle and who described various mechanical devices (first century)
Synonyms:
Hero; Hero of Alexandria; Heron
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Instance hypernyms:
artificer; discoverer; inventor (someone who is the first to think of or make something)
mathematician (a person skilled in mathematics)
Context examples:
Of the last-mentioned hero, what shall I say?
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
It was as if a martyr, a hero, had passed a slave or victim, and imparted strength in the transit.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Lord Audley of Cheshire, the hero of Poictiers, and Loring of Hampshire, who was held to be the second lance in the army, were easily fixed upon.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Later in the morning, and just as the girls were going to separate in preparation for the regular four o'clock dinner, the hero of this inimitable charade walked in again.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
The folk here hold almost universally that the captain is simply a hero, and he is to be given a public funeral.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Return as heroes who have fought and conquered and who know not what it is to turn their backs on the foe.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
He knew whaling, and out of the real materials of his knowledge he proceeded to manufacture the fictitious adventures of the two boys he intended to use as joint heroes.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Wizards, who are the game heroes, need to prevent them from conquering the kingdom and seal the portal.
(Brazilian professor creates mobile game that combines fun with mathematics, Agência Brasil)
Sometimes they came upon him, and men faced him like heroes, or stampeded through barbed-wire fences to the delight of the commonwealth reading the account at the breakfast table.
(White Fang, by Jack London)