urban legend

American  

noun

1. a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror.

   Are there alligators living in the New York City sewer system, or is that just an urban legend?

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Etymology

Origin of urban legend

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

urban legend

Meanwhile, the competitive bidding war for the internet urban legend Siren Head closed last week, with Warner Bros. winning the theatrical rights for an undisclosed amount.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Officials now have the unenviable task of euthanising the creepy-crawlies, an insect so hardy it spawned an urban legend they could survive a nuclear blast.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The movie’s title and setting—an endless expanse of deserted, largely furniture-free office space bathed in sickly yellow—come from a crowd-sourced urban legend or “creepypasta” that spread online before the pandemic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Nonetheless, the urban legend of American Muslims rejoicing at 9/11 took on a life of its own, which neatly fit a preexisting narrative casting all Muslims as irredeemable enemies of the West.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2025

Sure, I hung out around Red Witch Bridge in the middle of the night, but that was in the cover of the trees with an urban legend and a baseball bat as weapons.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia