legend

noun

leg·end | \ ˈle-jənd

Definition of legend

1a : a story coming down from the past especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable the legend of a lost continent Arthurian legends

b : a body of such stories a place in the legend of the frontier

c : a popular myth of recent origin the legend of the Loch Ness monster

d : a person or thing that inspires legends a baseball legend

e : the subject of a legend its violence was legend even in its own time— William Broyles Jr.

2a : an inscription or title on an object (such as a coin) The quarter bore the legend "In God We Trust".

b : caption sense 2b The legend identifies the various parts of the illustrated anatomy.

c : an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart

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Examples of legend in a Sentence

I don't believe the legends I've heard about this forest. the legend of a lost continent He has become a baseball legend. The gravestone bears the legend “Rest in Peace.”

Recent Examples on the Web

The olive groves that surround this Sonoma, California, home are quite literally the stuff of legend. — House Beautiful, "Patrick Printy Designed This California Home to Bring the Great Outdoors Into Every Room," 19 Apr. 2019 Quietly, these two areas have become increasingly intertwined in recent years (JJ Redick shows up in Bon Appetit, San Antonio team dinners have become the stuff of legend, and players obsess over everything from PB&J to wine). — Ars Staff, Ars Technica, "A few of our favorite podcasts in 2018, from new to new-to-us," 23 Dec. 2018 Among the countless looks that have gone down in Met Gala history, Zendaya’s Joan of Arc instantly became the stuff of legend, not least of all thanks to the way its dramatic profile lent to her literal mythologizing from online fans. — Tasbeeh Herwees, The Verge, "How a superstar stylist turned Céline Dion and Zendaya into Instagram icons," 13 Sep. 2018 Get our daily newsletter EVEN during its heyday in the 1930s, the Shanghai of legend seemed to live under a premonition of death. — The Economist, "A gripping tale of Sodom sliding towards its bloody end," 12 July 2018 In all, 30 names are mentioned with varying degrees of legend. 9. — Stefan Stevenson, star-telegram, "The 10 best songs about baseball," 6 July 2018 By the next morning, stories of the incident quickly became the stuff of legend. — Kelly Yamanouchi, ajc, "Atlanta airport: Hartsfield-Jackson fence breach raises security concerns," 28 June 2018 The son of legend Peter Schmeichel is now a star in his own right with English Premier League club Leicester City. — Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com, "World Cup schedule, TV and streaming info: Argentina, Lionel Messi look to advance past Nigeria," 26 June 2018 The pilot follows a man named Neil who returns to the wilderness after many years to save those dearest to him from a woodland creature of legend. — Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, "St. X grad's TV pilot could grab the attention of Netflix, Hulu execs," 21 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'legend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.