phoenix
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.
genitive Phoe·ni·cis [fee-nahy-sis, -nee-]. /fiˈnaɪ sɪs, -ˈni-/. (initial capital letter)Astronomy. a southern constellation between Hydrus and Sculptor.
a person or thing of peerless beauty or excellence; paragon.
a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity or apparent annihilation.
Origin of phoenix
1- Also phe·nix .
Words Nearby phoenix
Other definitions for Phoenix (2 of 2)
Classical Mythology.
the brother of Cadmus and Europa, and eponymous ancestor of the Phoenicians.
a son of Amyntor and Cleobule who became the foster father of Achilles and who fought with the Greek forces in the Trojan War.
a city in and the capital of Arizona, in the central part.
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use phoenix in a sentence
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 | Vicky Ward | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBEST ACTOR Joaquin phoenix, Inherent Vice There is no better actor—right now—than Joaquin phoenix.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’ | Marlow Stern | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTHe came to phoenix once and we went up to see him, and they got so crazy that I ended up trying to hitchhike home.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBut you know, I had only one other hero in my life acting and that was River [phoenix].
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange | Marlow Stern | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen a client needs to move something by air, phoenix gets it done.
The American Ebola Rescue Plan Hinges on One Company. Meet Phoenix. | Abby Haglage | November 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The bridge was constructed in 1888 by the phoenix Bridge Company, and was erected on staging.
He wrongd you shrewdly,He toyld to climbe vp to the phoenix nest,And in his prints leaues your ascent more easie.
The Fatal Dowry | Philip Massinger"Open the door, phoenix," mumbled Calavius, as he rocked and swayed.
The Lion's Brood | Duffield OsborneThe story of just how Chicago proved herself a veritable phoenix is a very interesting one.
Ocean to Ocean on Horseback | Willard GlazierThe savage had before this event been merely "a legendary and heraldic animal like the griffin and the phoenix."
The Myths of the North American Indians | Lewis Spence
British Dictionary definitions for phoenix (1 of 3)
US phenix
/ (ˈfiːnɪks) /
a legendary Arabian bird said to set fire to itself and rise anew from the ashes every 500 years
a person or thing of surpassing beauty or quality
Origin of phoenix
1British Dictionary definitions for Phoenix (2 of 3)
/ (ˈfiːnɪks) /
a constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Grus and Eridanus
British Dictionary definitions for Phoenix (3 of 3)
/ (ˈfiːnɪks) /
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
Cultural definitions for phoenix (1 of 2)
[ (fee-niks) ]
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.
Notes for phoenix
[ (fee-niks) ]
Capital city of Arizona.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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