hero
noun (1)
he·ro
| \ ˈhir-(ˌ)ō
\
\
plural heroes
Definition of hero
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a
: 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
2a
: the principal character in a literary or dramatic work
—used specifically of a principal male character especially when contrasted with heroine A special feature was the cliff-hanger ending when hero, heroine, or both found themselves confronting a violent demise …— Ira Konigsberg —now also used of a principal character who is female … action movies with female heroes are emerging more frequently, and with increasing quality.— William Bibbiani
b
: the central figure in an event, period, or movement
Hero
noun (2)Definition of Hero (Entry 2 of 3)
: a legendary priestess of Aphrodite loved by Leander
Hero
biographical name
He·ro
| \ ˈhē-(ˌ)rō
, ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\
, ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\
variants:
or Heron \ ˈhē-ˌrän
\
\
Definition of Hero (Entry 3 of 3)
1st century a.d. Greek scientist
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Examples of hero in a Sentence
Noun (1)
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 on the Web: Noun
Instead, Bach says, the poem strove to stoke revolutionary fervor and patriotism (the work was published just ahead of the Civil War) by presenting Revere as the ultimate American hero. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Exploring Paul Revere’s Legacy Beyond His Famed Midnight Ride," 12 Sep. 2019 Harry Nespoli, president of Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association and chair of the Municipal Labor Committee, said sanitation workers were among the many unsung heroes of the attack. — New York Times, "Families of Sanitation Workers, Unsung 9/11 Heroes, to Get Health Benefits," 10 Sep. 2019 Death Wish’, a celebration of violence in which the heroes write themselves a licence to drink, smoke, screw and beat one another up. — N.e.g., The Economist, "“Fight Club” presaged the darker corners of the internet," 10 Sep. 2019 Options at Dazzle Bennie Maupin has to be one of the unsung heroes of jazz history. — Bret Saunders, The Know, "Go old-school this weekend at the Denver Vintage Jazz Festival," 10 Sep. 2019 Potluck and Perry program: Bay Village Historical Society will offer a program on the life and legacy of Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, on Sept. 19 at Bay Lodge on Bradley Road. — Carol Kovach, cleveland.com, "Old River Shopping Area again welcomes Rocky River Fall Arts Festival on Sept. 14: West Shore Chatter," 10 Sep. 2019 Everybody is always insulting him, not at all jokingly, and his need to stop feeling lousy about himself and become the hero of his own story becomes a driving force in the situation for all concerned. — Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News, "Review: No easy answers for a doomed school in ‘Exit Strategy’ in Berkeley," 10 Sep. 2019 When the sewer-dwelling, shapeshifting clown resurfaces, the unlikely heroes return to their hometown of Derry, Maine to get rid of the demon once and for all. — Rebecca Rubin, chicagotribune.com, "‘It: Chapter Two’ floats to No. 1 with $91 million," 9 Sep. 2019 For a second straight season, the Gophers safety played the hero with a game-saving interception in the end zone to keep Fresno State from beating Minnesota. — Andy Greder, Twin Cities, "Antoine Winfield deja vu: This time, Gophers top Fresno State 38-35 in 2 OT thriller," 8 Sep. 2019These 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.
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More Definitions for hero
hero
noun
English Language Learners Definition of hero
: 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.
See the full definition for hero in the English Language Learners Dictionary
hero
noun
he·ro
| \ ˈhir-ō
, ˈhē-rō\
, ˈhē-rō\
plural heroes
Kids Definition of hero
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