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hydra

American  
[hahy-druh] / ˈhaɪ drə /

noun

plural

hydras, hydrae,

genitive

Hydrae

  1. Classical Mythology. Often Hydra 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.

  2. 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.

  3. a persistent or many-sided problem that presents new obstacles as soon as one aspect is solved.

  4. (initial capital letter) the Sea Serpent, a large southern constellation extending through 90° of the sky, being the longest of all constellations.

Hydra 1 British  
/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

  1. Greek myth a monster with nine heads, each of which, when struck off, was replaced by two new ones

"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
hydra 2 British  
/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

  1. any solitary freshwater hydroid coelenterate of the genus Hydra, in which the body is a slender polyp with tentacles around the mouth

  2. a persistent trouble or evil

    the hydra of the Irish problem
"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
Hydra 3 British  
/ ˈhaɪdrə /

noun

  1. 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
hydra Scientific  
/ hī′drə /

plural

hydras

  1. See under hydroid

Etymology

Origin of hydra

First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin hydra, from Greek hýdrā “water serpent” (replacing Middle English ydre, from Middle French, from Latin); otter

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.

Aside from giving housing and homelessness their own box atop Newsom’s organizational chart, the chief selling point of the reorganization has been to simplify the state’s hydra of affordable housing financing systems.

From Los Angeles Times

It described Clayton Homes as “a many-headed hydra” that builds almost half of the nation’s mobile homes, then sells those homes through its retailers.

From Salon

“It’s like a hydra, like a three-headed monster!” she says with a hearty laugh.

From Los Angeles Times

Non-state organisations tend to operate like a hydra's head - one operational commander or figurehead leader gets removed and they are quickly replaced by another.

From BBC

"We have to look at Wagner not only as a single man but as an ecosystem, as a hydra with many many heads and many diverse interests in Africa."

From BBC

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.