hydra
Often Hydra .Classical Mythology. a water or marsh serpent with nine heads, each of which, if cut off, grew back as two; Hercules killed this serpent by cauterizing the necks as he cut off the heads.
any freshwater polyp of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a cylindrical body with a ring of tentacles surrounding the mouth, and usually living attached to rocks, plants, etc., but also capable of detaching and floating in the water.
a persistent or many-sided problem that presents new obstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.
genitive Hy·drae [hahy-dree]. /ˈhaɪ dri/. (initial capital letter)Astronomy. the Sea Serpent, a large southern constellation extending through 90° of the sky, being the longest of all constellations.
Origin of hydra
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hydra in a sentence
I take it most of them were trying to lie head to wind, but, not being hydras, they failed.
Actions and Reactions | Rudyard KiplingYou were saying that hydras—that hydras—er—er—er—something about hydras.
The Ocean Cat's Paw | George Manville FennCompared to this creature, the ancient hydras are insignificant.
Sea Stories | VariousThis feature of recurrence is especially characteristic of Hydras.
Demonology and Devil-lore | Moncure Daniel ConwayUpon the flaming summit sat the Furies, stained with blood, begirt with Hydras.
National Epics | Kate Milner Rabb
British Dictionary definitions for hydra (1 of 3)
/ (ˈhaɪdrə) /
any solitary freshwater hydroid coelenterate of the genus Hydra, in which the body is a slender polyp with tentacles around the mouth
a persistent trouble or evil: the hydra of the Irish problem
Origin of hydra
1British Dictionary definitions for Hydra (2 of 3)
/ (ˈhaɪdrə) /
Greek myth a monster with nine heads, each of which, when struck off, was replaced by two new ones
British Dictionary definitions for Hydra (3 of 3)
/ (ˈhaɪdrə) /
a very long faint constellation lying mainly in the S hemisphere and extending from near Virgo to Cancer
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
Scientific definitions for hydra
[ hī′drə ]
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse