1
: traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people
Paul Bunyan is a figure from folklore.
Like its predecessor, the game draws from elements of African folklore and spiritual beliefs.—
Megan Farokhmanesh
Megan Farokhmanesh2
: a branch of knowledge that deals with folklore
a specialist in folklore
3
: an often unsupported notion, story, or saying that is widely circulated
the folklore about the health risks of computers
Examples of folklore in a Sentence
The coyote appears in a great deal of Native American folklore.
the rich folklore of Louisiana
He can't tell the difference between fact and folklore.
Recent Examples on the Web
Stern has also published four collections of stories, four novellas, and two children’s books, all of them steeped in Jewish folklore.
—Cathleen Schine, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Set in Jim Crow Mississippi, the film blends blues folklore and vampire mythology into an immersive story about racial exploitation and cultural survival.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026
Chin eventually incorporated supernatural elements, including folklore and zombie mythology, using fantasy to explore emotional and psychological gaps within cycles of toxic relationships and to reframe the agency of female characters.
—Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
Other researchers are warning residents to not listen to the folklore surrounding these spiders.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for folklore
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Cathleen Schine, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Set in Jim Crow Mississippi, the film blends blues folklore and vampire mythology into an immersive story about racial exploitation and cultural survival.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026
Chin eventually incorporated supernatural elements, including folklore and zombie mythology, using fantasy to explore emotional and psychological gaps within cycles of toxic relationships and to reframe the agency of female characters.
—Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
Other researchers are warning residents to not listen to the folklore surrounding these spiders.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for folklore
Cite this Entry
“Folklore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folklore. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
folklore
noun
folk·lore
ˈfōk-ˌlō(ə)r 
-ˌlȯ(ə)r
: customs, beliefs, stories, and sayings of a people handed down from generation to generation
folkloric
adjective
-ˌlȯr-ik
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