Ulysses
Americannoun
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Classical Mythology. Latin name for Odysseus.
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(italics) a psychological novel (1922) by James Joyce.
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a male given name.
noun
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The Irish author James Joyce adopted the name for the title of his masterpiece of the early twentieth century, which is, in part, a retelling of the myth of Odysseus.
In the Aeneid of Virgil, which was written in Latin, Odysseus is called Ulysses.
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.
In the 19th century, Americans frequently elected victorious generals—Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant, Zachary Taylor—as president.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026
As workers cleaned his Toyota Camry, a retired history professor waited on a bench, reading a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 23, 2025
The Ulysses mission, launched in 1990, was the first spacecraft to leave the ecliptic plane and sample the solar wind over the poles.
From Science Daily • Oct. 14, 2025
On the postcard promoting the show, he quoted James Joyce’s Ulysses, “History is the Nightmare from which I am trying to Awaken.”
From Slate • Jun. 6, 2025
She took two sandwiches and handed one to Ulysses.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
