dragon

noun

drag·​on ˈdra-gən 

1

archaic : a huge serpent

2

: a mythical animal usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws

3

: a violent, combative, or very strict person

4

capitalized : draco

5

: something or someone formidable or baneful

dragonish

ˈdra-gə-nish 

adjective

Examples of dragon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On a recent Friday, the four Tubs arrived in New York, by van, from Washington, D.C., and went to get some restorative pints at a midtown Welsh pub called the Liberty, which has a statue out front of a Welsh dragon. —Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 16 June 2025

Stoic and the Vikings are attacked by dragons In both films, Stoic and the Vikings set sail to find the Dragon's Nest while Hiccup is in dragon-fighting training. —Daniela Avila, People.com, 14 June 2025

The plucky teen son of the chief, a boy named Hiccup (played by Mason Thames), befriends a sleek black dragon named Toothless and learns that fighting the beasts isn’t the only answer. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025

The film begins with a massive dragon attack on Hiccup's village and the Vikings fight back against them; the climax of the movie is a large-scale battle with humans and dragons teaming up to take on an ancient, kaiju-sized creature. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French dragun, from Latin dracon-, draco serpent, dragon, from Greek drakōn serpent; akin to Old English torht bright, Greek derkesthai to see, look at

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dragon

• dragon fruit
• dragon lady
• dragon's blood
• dragon's teeth
• green dragon
• Komodo dragon

Rhymes for dragon

• agone
• lagan
• waggon
• wagon
• anlagen
• bandwagon
• snapdragon

Kids Definition

dragon

noun

drag·​on ˈdrag-ən 

1

: an imaginary animal usually pictured as a huge serpent or lizard with wings and large claws

2

capitalized : draco

Etymology

Middle English dragon "dragon," from early French dragun (same meaning), from Latin dracon-, draco "serpent, dragon," from Greek drakōn "serpent" — related to rankle