Phoenix Definition & Meaning

American

British

Cultural

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Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms phoenix 1 American [fee-niks] / ˈfi nɪks / Also phenix

noun

genitive

Phoenicis

1. Sometimes Phoenix a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope.

2. (initial capital letter) a southern constellation between Hydrus and Sculptor.

3. a person or thing of peerless beauty or excellence; paragon.

4. a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity or apparent annihilation.

Phoenix 2 American [fee-niks] / ˈfi nɪks /

noun

1. Classical Mythology.

   1. the brother of Cadmus and Europa, and eponymous ancestor of the Phoenicians.

   2. a son of Amyntor and Cleobule who became the foster father of Achilles and who fought with the Greek forces in the Trojan War.

2. a city in and the capital of Arizona, in the central part.

3. Military. a 13-foot (4-meter), 989-pound (445-kilogram) U.S. Navy air-to-air missile with radar guidance and a range of over 120 nautical miles.

phoenix 1 British / ˈfiːnɪks /

noun

1. a legendary Arabian bird said to set fire to itself and rise anew from the ashes every 500 years

2. a person or thing of surpassing beauty or quality

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Phoenix 2 British / ˈfiːnɪks /

noun

1. a constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Grus and Eridanus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Phoenix 3 British / ˈfiːnɪks /

noun

1. a city in central Arizona, capital city of the state, on the Salt River. Pop: 1 388 416 (2003 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Phoenix 1 Cultural

1. Capital city of Arizona.

phoenix 2 Cultural

1. A mythical bird that periodically burned itself to death and emerged from the ashes as a new phoenix. According to most stories, the rebirth of the phoenix happened every five hundred years. Only one phoenix lived at a time.

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To “rise like a phoenix from the ashes” is to overcome a seemingly insurmountable setback.

Etymology

Origin of phoenix

First recorded before 900; from Latin, from Greek phoînix “a mythical bird, purple-red color,” Phoenician, “date palm”; replacing Middle English, Old English fēnix, from Medieval Latin; Latin as above

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Darnold proved success in football, like life, is not always linear.

From Los Angeles Times

Christopher stared as a phoenix came to roost atop a lamppost; nobody looked twice.

From Literature

“Coal,” Jackson said, “like what a phoenix rises out of.”

From Literature

Theoretically, as a phoenix club, their ranking would change from first to last but with the fixtures already released it could be difficult to revise.

From BBC

“I’m at a place now where I feel like, in a way, it’s sort of a phoenix situation,” Hollis said about his post-fire rise from the ashes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• behemoth
• freak
• giant
• whale

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.