hero

he·ro

noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\

plural he·roes

Definition of HERO

1

a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

b : an illustrious warrior

c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities

d : one who shows great courage

2

a : the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work

b : the central figure in an event, period, or movement

3

plural usually he·ros : submarine 2

4

: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol

Examples of HERO

1. He returned from the war a national hero.
2. the hero of a rescue
3. She was a hero for standing up to the government.
4. His father has always been his hero.
5. He has always been a hero to his son.
6. A motto of his hero, Thomas Edison, is inscribed on a favorite sweatshirt : “To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” —Britt Robson, Mother Jones, May/June 2008
7. Greater authors—Arthur Conan Doyle most notably—have been in the same dilemma when seeking closure. And, like Conan Doyle, Rowling has won imperishable renown for giving us an identifiable hero and a fine caricature of a villain, and for making a fictional bit of King's Cross station as luminous as a certain address on nearby Baker Street. —Christopher Hitchens, New York Times Book Review, 12 Aug. 2007
8. Here's a novel by a decorated war hero with a fictional Middle Eastern desert war at its core. It pits an American-led coalition against a potentially lethal enemy … —Lorenzo Carcaterra, People, 3 June 1991
9. Other physicists, long wedded to the notion that nothing can escape from a black hole, have generally come to accept that discovery. And the stuff emitted from little black holes (and big ones too, but far more slowly) is now called Hawking radiation. “In general relativity and early cosmology, Hawking is the hero,” says Rocky Kolb, a physicist at Fermilab in Illinois. —Leon Jaroff, Time, 8 Feb. 1988

Origin of HERO

Latin heros, from Greek hērōs

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to HERO

Synonyms

god, idol, icon (also ikon)

Related Words

beau ideal, classic, exemplar, ideal, model, nonpareil, paragon

Other Mythology and Folklore Terms

elysian, fay, muse, nimbus, phoenix

Rhymes with HERO

zero

Hero

noun

Definition of HERO

: a legendary priestess of Aphrodite loved by Leander

Origin of HERO

Latin, from Greek Hērō

First Known Use: 14th century

He·ro

biographical name \ˈhē-(ˌ)rō, ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\

Definition of HERO

1st cent. a.d. Greek scientist

Variants of HERO

He·ro or He·ron \ˈhē-ˌrän\

hero

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Mythological or legendary figure, often of divine descent, who is endowed with great strength or ability, like the heroes celebrated in early epics such as Gilgamesh, The Iliad, Beowulf, or the Chanson de Roland. Usually illustrious warriors or adventurers, heroes are often represented as fulfilling a quest (e.g., Aeneas, in Virgil's Aeneid, founding the Roman state, or Beowulf ridding his people of the monstrous Grendel and his mother). Heroes often possess special qualities such as unusual beauty, precocity, and skills in many crafts. Often inclined to boasting and foolhardiness, they defy pain and death to live fully, creating a moment's glory that survives in the memory of their descendants.