Argus

American  

[ahr-guhs] / ˈɑr gəs /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a giant with 100 eyes, set to guard the heifer Io: his eyes were transferred after his death to the peacock's tail.

2. a son of Phrixus and builder of the Argo.

3. (in theOdyssey ) Odysseus' faithful dog, who recognized his master after twenty years and immediately died.

4. any observant or vigilant person; a watchful guardian.

5. (lowercase) Also argus pheasant any of several brilliantly marked Malayan pheasants of the Argusianus or Rheinardia genera.

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argus ¹ British  

/ ˈɑːɡəs /

noun

1. any of various brown butterflies, esp the Scotch argus ( Erebia aethiops ) found on moorland and in forests up to a height of 2000 m

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Argus ² British  

/ ˈɑːɡəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a giant with a hundred eyes who was made guardian of the heifer Io. After he was killed by Hermes his eyes were transferred to the peacock's tail

2. a vigilant person; guardian

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Argus Cultural  

1. A creature in classical mythology who had a hundred eyes. Hera set him to watch over Io, a girl who had been seduced by Zeus and then turned into a cow; with Argus on guard, Zeus could not come to rescue Io, for only some of Argus' eyes would be closed in sleep at any one time. Hermes, working on Zeus' behalf, played music that put all the eyes to sleep and then killed Argus. Hera put his eyes in the tail of the peacock.

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Etymology

Origin of Argus

< Latin < Greek Árgos, derivative of argós bright, shining

Example Sentences

A major factor in recent years was demand from Indonesia, where the fast-growing battery industry is a big consumer of sulfuric acid, according to Sarah Marlow, head of fertilizer pricing at Argus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Argus Research analyst Joseph Bonner told MarketWatch that investors were searching for bargains on Monday, and added that investors may be teasing out which companies may benefit from Anthropic’s Mythos.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

"I think what makes this one potentially more critical is the number of production hubs that are involved and countries that are involved," says Sarah Marlow, global editor for fertiliser at Argus Media.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Jet-fuel prices have almost doubled since the start of the war, according to the Argus U.S.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

I had to get back to my cabin before Argus or the harpies discovered I was breaking curfew.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan