Charybdis

[ kuh-rib-dis ]

/ kəˈrɪb dɪs /

noun

a whirlpool in the Strait of Messina off the NE coast of Sicily.Modern name Galofalo, Garofalo.

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

Related forms

Cha·ryb·di·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for charybdis

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
Placed between Scylla and Charybdis, between Manasseh and his manservant, he felt he could sooner face the former.
The King of Schnorrers|Israel Zangwill
But this was plunging from Scylla into Charybdis, for it inferred that the Stuarts inherited the heavenly-gifted touch by descent.
Calamities and Quarrels of Authors|Isaac Disraeli
Reverie, above all things, is forbidden by Scylla and Charybdis.
Modern Painters, Volume V (of 5)|John Ruskin

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
Might it not well be that, escaping Scylla, they were sailing into the whirlpool of Charybdis?
House of Torment|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

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

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