griffin
noun
a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
griffin
1 American
[grif-in]
/ ˈgrɪf ɪn /
Also
griffon,
noun
Classical Mythology.
griffin
2
American
[grif-in]
/ ˈgrɪf ɪn /
noun
Griffin
3
American
[grif-in]
/ ˈgrɪf ɪn /
noun
-
a city in W Georgia.
-
a male given name.
griffin
1
British
/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /
noun
griffin
2
British
/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of griffin1
1300–50; Middle English griffoun < Middle French grifon < Latin grȳphus < Greek grȳp- (stem of grȳ́ps ) “curled, curved, having a hooked nose”
Origin of griffin2
First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain
Explanation
If your little brother wants a pet griffin, you should probably try to talk him out of it. A griffin is a flying, eagle-headed lion with sharp talons. (Luckily for you, griffins aren't real.) The mythical griffin — also spelled gryphon or griffon — dates as far back as 3000 BCE. Some griffins have the front talons of an eagle, like the griffins that appear on shields or coats-of-arms — they were often used this way, since the combination of lion and eagle was seen as being especially brave and strong. Griffins appear in literature ranging from Rumi's ancient Persian poetry to the Harry Potter books. The word's Greek root is gryps, "curved."
Vocabulary lists containing griffin
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
On the left arm, the mythical griffin creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle appears to be fighting with a stag.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025
You can’t have a lot of body horror in a kid’s movie, but you can have a topiary griffin who torrentially evacuates dead leaves across the backyard in a beautiful, disgusting arc.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2018
At first she believed it to be some kind of mythical creature, a California version of a minotaur or a griffin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2018
An oaken door leads down to this medieval-like subterranean space with a Bayeux-esque tapestry of dead patricians and a griffin.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2016
The dragon, the griffin, the unicorn, the phoenix, the centaur—these and more are represented in Muggle works of that period, though usually with almost comical inexactitude.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Griffin said the call for feedback feels disingenuous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Bath hit Northampton again through 21-year-old Charlie Griffin before Saints slickly whipped the ball between their backs until it reached Sleightholme for their second try.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Reform MS Andrew Griffin said communities across Wales living near sites that are potentially unsafe "deserve answers".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Griffin moved Citadel’s headquarters to Miami in 2022 after more than three decades in Chicago.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
“We’ll check the western quarter tomorrow. Griffin thought he saw a den there over the summer. Could be it’s hiding there.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
