myth

noun \ ˈmith \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: myth and urban myth

Definition of myth

1 a : a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon

creation myths

b : parable, allegory

Moral responsibility is the motif of Plato's myths.

2 a : a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially : one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society

seduced by the American myth of individualism
—Orde Coombs

the utopian myth of a perfect society

b : an unfounded or false notion

the myth of racial superiority

3 : a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence

the Superman myth

The unicorn is a myth.

4 : the whole body of myths

a student of Greek myth

See myth defined for English-language learners

See myth defined for kids

Examples of myth in a Sentence

It's an enduring myth that money brings happiness.
I don't believe the myths and legends about this forest.
Contrary to popular myth, no monster lives in this lake.

Recent Examples of myth from the Web

Athey’s work explores Christian myth, sexuality, fetish and pain — visceral, S&M tinged work that once drew the ire of conservative politicians.

— carolina a. miranda, latimes.com, "Datebook: Police violence paintings, a gallery's 25th and enduring images of a photojournalist's life," 21 June 2018
Diamonds emerge from myth, sparkling gems endowed with mystery, timelessness and beauty.

— mike rogoway, OregonLive.com, "Diamonds in Gresham: De Beers will build $94 million synthetic gem factory," 31 May 2018
In practical terms that means correcting, complicating and providing alternatives to dominant art world myths, especially the legend of the lone, male genius.

— mary louise schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Leaders rethinking choices and presentations at Milwaukee art museums in age of #MeToo," 18 May 2018
There’s a myth that hunting and fishing leads to extinction, but really, these activities have the opposite effect.

— michigan wildlife council, Detroit Free Press, "No strangers to the endangered," 9 May 2018
All those resurrection myths—Osiris, or Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring and the harvest who spends part of the year underground with Hades and part above?

— adam rogers, WIRED, "Star Wars Is Becoming a Religion, and May 4 Is Its Spring Festival," 4 May 2018
There’s a myth about never using soap in a cast iron skillet, which might have been true 100 years ago when soap had lye in it, but modern dish soap is just a degreaser.

— graham averill, Outside Online, "How to Take Care of a Cast Iron Skillet," 12 Apr. 2018
And there’s the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, an account of something far kinkier than misperception: a work of art not merely resembling a human being but actually coming to life, the ultimate sculpture as mimesis.

— karen wilkin, WSJ, "A Morbid, Engaging Body of Work," 26 Mar. 2018
That's another myth A Safe Place advocates say needs to be put to rest — that domestic abuse is only a problem that affects those involved and not the entire community.

— yadira sanchez olson, Lake County News-Sun, "Domestic violence agency details the reality of 'affluent abuse' across Lake County," 9 Mar. 2018

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

myth and urban myth

For a word so often applied to events or stories from long, long ago, myth has a remarkably recent history in the English language. The earliest evidence for the word is from 1830, well after the time when the events themselves are thought to have occurred (though it should be noted that the related words mythology and mythic are hundreds of years older – still not as old as Achilles, but not young, either!). One application of myth, however – in the phrase urban myth – is quite new. Curiously, an urban myth does not usually have anything to do with the city: it is simply “a story about an unusual event or occurrence that many people believe is true but that is not true.” An example would be the tale that Elvis Presley is still alive after spending decades in a witness protection program. The phrase urban myth has been used to describe such hoaxes since at least 1971.

Origin and Etymology of myth

earlier mythos, mythus, borrowed from Greek mŷthos "utterance, speech, discourse, tale, narrative, fiction, legend," of obscure origin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1830

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

myth Synonyms

Other Mythology and Folklore Terms

elysian, fay, muse, nimbus, phoenix

MYTH Defined for English Language Learners

myth

noun

Definition of myth for English Language Learners

: an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true
: a story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence
: such stories as a group

MYTH Defined for Kids

myth

noun \ ˈmith \

Definition of myth for Students

1 : a story often describing the adventures of beings with more than human powers that attempts to explain mysterious events (as the changing of the seasons) or that explains a religious belief or practice

2 : such stories as a group

3 : a person or thing existing only in the imagination