goddess
Americannoun
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goddesses
plural
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a female god or deity.
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Also called Triple Goddess. Goddess. (in Neopaganism) a triune female deity whose individual forms represent the different phases of life and growth.
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a woman of extraordinary beauty and charm.
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a greatly admired or adored woman.
a domestic goddess who hosts lavish dinner parties.
noun
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a female divinity
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a woman who is adored or idealized, esp by a man
Gender
See -ess .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of goddess
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; see origin at god , -ess
Explanation
In mythology, a goddess is a female god. Aphrodite, for example, is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Many religions have female deities or goddesses, including the ancient Romans and Greeks, traditional African religions, and Hinduism. Some well-known goddesses include Juno, Gaia, and Lakshmi. If you know a woman who seems as beautiful, powerful, or amazing as a god, you can also call her a goddess. Using the word for mortals first came into fashion in the late 16th century.
Vocabulary lists containing goddess
World Religions
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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The Stone Age - Middle School and High 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:
Families perform a seven to nine-day ritual of bathing and offering cool water and neem leaves to the local disease goddess.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Another key trend identified by Kotsoni's team is the idea of the modern goddess - a take on the styles of Ancient Greece and a nod to Christopher Nolan's hit film The Odyssey this summer.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Its three plexiglass vaults hold ghostly symbols of procreation: an irradiated vortex, the fertility goddess Hera, a DNA spiral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
In Homer’s poem, the goddess Calypso rescues Odysseus from a shipwreck and keeps him on her island for seven years, even as he longs for Penelope and Ithaca.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Fluffy white clouds float peacefully in the air, earning a small smile from the goddess.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“The exhibitions trace the evolution of human culture through storytelling, from ancient sculptures of gods and goddesses to Renaissance paintings to photographs, comics and modern cinema,” the release says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
He played queens, courtesans, goddesses and brothel madams with a studied grace.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026
We can all practice speaking to persuade, not degrade, listening with an open heart and a curious mind, and remembering that we are not gods or goddesses.
From Slate ● Jan. 2, 2026
Exquisite, also, is a grouping of several soft-paste-biscuit tabletop figurines—classical and idyllic scenes depicting lovers, children, goddesses and bathers, all designed by Boucher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
Nothing other than muttering in front of those goddesses.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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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.
