Pied Piper
Americannoun
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the hero of a German folk legend, popularized in The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1842) by Robert Browning.
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Sometimes pied piper a person who induces others to follow or imitate them, especially by means of false or extravagant promises.
noun
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Also called: the Pied Piper of Hamelin. (in German legend) a piper who rid the town of Hamelin of rats by luring them away with his music and then, when he was not paid for his services, lured away its children
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(sometimes not capitals) a person who entices others to follow him
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.
Bruno Fernandes has had an outstanding season for United, and Liverpool will need to stop the Portuguese Pied Piper from leading them a merry dance.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
One by one, they are turned into vampires by Kurt Barlow, ostensibly a furniture salesman but in fact a Pied Piper of the undead.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025
It was as if he were the Pied Piper playing a tune only his fans could hear.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2025
“If the right Pied Piper comes along then folks can be mobilized, sometimes with very devastating consequences,” Uscinski said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 8, 2024
His scarred face only reminded her of the lies he had told to lure her out to him, like the Pied Piper in the story.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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.
