hero

1 of 2

noun (1)

he·​ro ˈhir-(ˌ)ō How to pronounce hero (audio)
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 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
3
plural usually heros : submarine entry 2 sense 2
4
: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol

Hero

2 of 2

noun (2)

: a legendary priestess of Aphrodite loved by Leander

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
Bazille had by now befriended his hero, so his decision to highlight the peonies was a kind of homage. Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 My hero’s journey has a lot to do with the reclamation of pink, wielding it as a means of access to the comforts of sisterhood and as an armor, which allows my artistic practice to drift and maneuver across genres. Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 The Kelce brothers were hometown heroes at the Cleveland Cavaliers game on Tuesday night! Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 Often the scapegoat, Timberlake was finally the hero as No. 14 Kansas dominated K-State 90-68 on Senior Night. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2024 Harrison Ford can’t escape the two-and-a-half-minute fanfare that John Williams composed for his most famous cinematic hero, Indiana Jones. Chris Willman, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 In the Christian version, Christ is the eventual hero of God’s plan, leading humanity both forward and backward, toward its eternal place with God. James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Fast forward to Saturday: Moxley was the hero, extending his team’s season for at least one more game. Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 But while Gascón may be the man to beat on Super Tuesday, his challengers have yet to prove themselves the hero, either on-screen or in the polls. Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hero.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Latin heros, from Greek hērōs

Noun (2)

Latin, from Greek Hērō

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1522, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hero was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near hero

Cite this Entry

“Hero.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hero. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hero

noun
he·​ro ˈhē-rō How to pronounce hero (audio)
ˈhi(ə)r-ō
plural heroes
1
a
: a mythological or legendary figure of great strength or ability
b
: an outstanding warrior or soldier
c
: a person admired for achievements and qualities
d
: one that shows great courage
the hero of a rescue
2
: the principal character in a literary or dramatic work
used specifically of a principal male character especially when contrasted with heroine; now also used of a principal character who is female
3
plural heros : submarine entry 2 sense 2

Biographical Definition

Hero

biographical name

He·​ro ˈhē-(ˌ)rō How to pronounce Hero (audio)
ˈhir-(ˌ)ō
variants or Heron
1st century a.d. Greek scientist

More from Merriam-Webster on hero

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!