hero

play

noun he·ro \ ˈhir-(ˌ)ō \

Definition of hero

plural heroes

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

b :an illustrious warrior

c :a person admired for 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 heros :submarine 2

4 :an object of extreme admiration and devotion :idol

See hero defined for English-language learners

See hero defined for kids

Examples of hero in a Sentence

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
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
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
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
He returned from the war a national hero.
the hero of a rescue
She was a hero for standing up to the government.
His father has always been his hero.
He has always been a hero to his son.

Recent Examples of hero from the Web

An omniscient hero could quickly sap the show of suspense.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Bran Stark and the Problem of Omniscience," 29 Aug. 2017
The new banner is intended to bring unique story angles to the studio's iconic heroes and villains.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Fans Are Already Outraged Over Martin Scorsese's Joker Movie," 23 Aug. 2017
The penultimate year of a seven-season stretch is exactly when major heroes should be dropping like flies.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones Really Needs to Start Killing off Its Heroes Again," 21 Aug. 2017
The Romans, however, had their own hero, General Scipio Africanus, who, in 209 B.C., captured much of the Iberian Peninsula, including Carthage's silver mines.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Silver Composition in Coins Confirms the Story of the Rise of Rome," 17 Aug. 2017
The teens — all in Knights uniforms — eagerly surrounded the local hometown hero, who greeted them like a friend, graciously showed them his Super Bowl rings and patiently posed for pictures with the team and with individuals.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "New Lenox rallies around Super Bowl champ Rob Ninkovich," 13 Aug. 2017
Over the last several days, however, Damore has been adopted as a hero of the far right, which has highlighted his dismissal to support a broader narrative of progressivism run amok.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "The Fired Google Engineer Is Doubling Down," 9 Aug. 2017
In London, Churchill was given the same message by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, a flamboyant British war hero and close friend of Churchill’s, who was serving as the prime minister’s personal liaison with King Leopold.

— Longreads, "Whose Fault Was Dunkirk?," 7 Aug. 2017
According to the prophecy, Azor Ahai was the hero chosen to defend the world in a time of darkness.

— chanel vargas, Cosmopolitan, "The Game of Thrones Fan Theory Predicts a Major Prophecy Is About to Come True," 3 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of hero

Latin heros, from Greek hērōs

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1522

See Words from the same year

hero Synonyms

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

Hero

noun

Definition of Hero

:a legendary priestess of Aphrodite loved by Leander

Recent Examples of hero from the Web

An omniscient hero could quickly sap the show of suspense.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Bran Stark and the Problem of Omniscience," 29 Aug. 2017
The new banner is intended to bring unique story angles to the studio's iconic heroes and villains.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Fans Are Already Outraged Over Martin Scorsese's Joker Movie," 23 Aug. 2017
The penultimate year of a seven-season stretch is exactly when major heroes should be dropping like flies.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones Really Needs to Start Killing off Its Heroes Again," 21 Aug. 2017
The Romans, however, had their own hero, General Scipio Africanus, who, in 209 B.C., captured much of the Iberian Peninsula, including Carthage's silver mines.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Silver Composition in Coins Confirms the Story of the Rise of Rome," 17 Aug. 2017
The teens — all in Knights uniforms — eagerly surrounded the local hometown hero, who greeted them like a friend, graciously showed them his Super Bowl rings and patiently posed for pictures with the team and with individuals.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "New Lenox rallies around Super Bowl champ Rob Ninkovich," 13 Aug. 2017
Over the last several days, however, Damore has been adopted as a hero of the far right, which has highlighted his dismissal to support a broader narrative of progressivism run amok.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "The Fired Google Engineer Is Doubling Down," 9 Aug. 2017
In London, Churchill was given the same message by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, a flamboyant British war hero and close friend of Churchill’s, who was serving as the prime minister’s personal liaison with King Leopold.

— Longreads, "Whose Fault Was Dunkirk?," 7 Aug. 2017
According to the prophecy, Azor Ahai was the hero chosen to defend the world in a time of darkness.

— chanel vargas, Cosmopolitan, "The Game of Thrones Fan Theory Predicts a Major Prophecy Is About to Come True," 3 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of hero

Latin, from Greek Hērō

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Hero

play

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

variants: or Heron play \ˈhē-ˌrän\

Definition of Hero

1st century a.d. Greek scientist

HERO Defined for English Language Learners

hero

play

noun

Definition of hero for English Language Learners

: a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities
: a person who is greatly admired
: the chief male character in a story, play, movie, etc.

HERO Defined for Kids

hero

play

noun he·ro \ ˈhir-ō , ˈhē-rō \

Definition of hero for Students

plural heroes

1 :a person admired for great deeds or fine qualities

We study heroes of our nation's history.

2 :a person who shows great courage

The firefighters were heroes.

3 :the chief male character in a story, play, or poem

Learn More about hero

See words that rhyme with hero Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hero Spanish Central: Translation of hero Nglish: Translation of hero for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hero for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hero

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Hero

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