Charybdis

[ kuh-rib-dis ]

/ kəˈrɪb dɪs /

Save This Word!

noun

Modern name Ga·lo·fa·lo

[Italian gah-law-fah-law], /Italian gɑˈlɔ fɑ lɔ/, Ga·ro·fa·lo

[Italian gah-raw-fah-law] /Italian gɑˈrɔ fɑ lɔ/ . a whirlpool in the Strait of Messina off the NE coast of Sicily.

Classical Mythology. a daughter of Gaia and Poseidon, a monster mentioned in Homer and later identified with the whirlpool Charybdis.Compare Scylla (def. 2).

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Charybdis

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English Karibdous, Karybdys, from Latin Charybdis, from Greek Chárybdis; further origin uncertain

OTHER WORDS FROM Charybdis

Cha·ryb·di·an, adjective

Words nearby Charybdis

Charvaka, charver, charvet, charwoman, chary, Charybdis, Chas., chase, chase mortise, chaser, Chasid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Charybdis in a sentence

Meanwhile many ordinary Egyptians will find themselves back at square one, caught between Scylla and Charybdis.
Thy Hand, Great Anarch!|Hussein Ibish|August 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yes; and rather easy in avoiding Scylla to fall into Charybdis.
The Opened Shutters|Clara Louise Burnham
He was in the Charybdis of passion, and must perforce circle and circle ever nearer round the fatal centre.
North and South|Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
But no elaborate argument was needed to rouse a people convinced at last that they were in the vortex of Charybdis.
The Evolution of Sinn Fein|Robert Mitchell Henry

But escaping Scylla she fell into Charybdis; her uncanny practices came to the ears of the authorities, and she was apprehended.
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology|St. John D. (St. John Drelincourt) Seymour
The curiosity of this monarch had been long excited by the accounts he had heard of the bottom of the gulf of Charybdis.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts

British Dictionary definitions for Charybdis

Charybdis

/ (kəˈrɪbdɪs) /

noun

a ship-devouring monster in classical mythology, identified with a whirlpool off the north coast of Sicily, lying opposite Scylla on the Italian coastCompare Scylla

Derived forms of Charybdis

Charybdian, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012