dragon

[ drag-uhn ]

/ ˈdræg ən /

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See synonyms for: dragon / dragons on Thesaurus.com

noun

a mythical monster generally represented as a huge, winged reptile with crested head and enormous claws and teeth, and often spouting fire.

Archaic. a huge serpent or snake.

Bible. a large animal, possibly a large snake or crocodile.

the dragon, Satan.

a fierce, violent person.

a very watchful and strict woman; duenna.

flying dragon.

Botany. any of several araceous plants, as Arisaema dracontium(green dragon, or dragonroot ), the flowers of which have a long, slender spadix and a green, shorter spathe.

a short musket carried by a mounted infantryman in the 16th and 17th centuries.

a soldier armed with such a musket.See also dragoon (defs. 1-3).

Dragon, Astronomy. the constellation Draco.

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Idioms about dragon

chase the dragon, Slang. to inhale the vapor of heated heroin or another opiate drug.

Origin of dragon

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dracōn- (stem of dracō ), from Greek drákōn the name of a kind of serpent, probably originally an epithet, “the (sharp-)sighted one,” akin to dérkesthai “to look”

OTHER WORDS FROM dragon

drag·on·ish, adjectivedrag·on·like, adjective

Words nearby dragon

dragline crane, drag link, dragnet, Drago, dragoman, dragon, dragon beam, drag one's ass, drag one's feet, dragonet, dragonfish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dragon in a sentence

One of the Higher Education Act’s architects lamented that the Guaranteed Student Loan Program quickly became a “fund-eating dragon.”
Even forgiving student loans won’t solve the higher education funding crisis|Elizabeth Shermer|January 22, 2021|Washington Post
Kathryn set up where the natural light was brightest in her Petworth apartment, put on jeans and “a super cozy alpaca sweater that feels like a hug,” and ordered emperor’s dragon noodles and a gimlet-style cocktail from Tiger Fork in Shaw.
Date Lab: He was looking for substantive conversation. She was too.|Jessica M. Goldstein|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
It feels like unfolding an elaborate piece of origami step by step, a sequence of secret creases that show how easily a humming bird or dragon can become an ordinary piece of paper again.
‘Pikmin 3 Deluxe’ loses some of its original charm|Michael Thomsen|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
Shai Meiri, a herpetologist at Tel Aviv University, has previously shown that many dragon lizards live in small, hard-to-access areas, making the reptiles difficult to study.
A nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found|Dyna Rochmyaningsih|June 9, 2020|Science News

After the encounter, he recovered the famed sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and also won the hand of the woman who he saved from the dragon.
12 Major Japanese Gods and Goddesses You Should Know About|Dattatreya Mandal|May 6, 2020|Realm of History
How to Train Your Dragon 2, the tenth highest grossing movie in 2014 America, made $22 million at the Korean box office.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In one picture, his head gets ripped off by a blue dragon; in another, he is the blue dragon.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Screen-filling enemies like the aforementioned dragon come early and they come often.
Bayonetta Is Nintendo’s Graphic, Ass-Kicking Barbie|Alec Kubas-Meyer|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Look at The Killing, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, all of these Scandinavian things with female investigators.
Frances McDormand on 'Olive Kitteridge,' Dropping LSD, and Her Beef With FX's 'Fargo'|Marlow Stern|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Consider a song like “Crayon” by G-Dragon, a member of the boy band Big Bang.
Black K-Pop Fans Come Out of the Closet|Sterling Wong|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They would never connive at this second sowing of the dragon's teeth of Cadmus.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Aristide darted off like a dragon-fly in the sunshine, as happy as a child with a new toy.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Now an automobile was a marvellous dragon for Rosemary, and she could never see too many for her pleasure.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
It was a dragon-fly personally conducting two moles through a rose-garden.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The dragon tree is the slowest of growth among vegetables; it seems also to be slowest in decay.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham

British Dictionary definitions for dragon

dragon

/ (ˈdræɡən) /

noun

a mythical monster usually represented as breathing fire and having a scaly reptilian body, wings, claws, and a long tail

informal a fierce or intractable person, esp a woman

any of various very large lizards, esp the Komodo dragon

any of various North American aroid plants, esp the green dragon

Christianity a manifestation of Satan or an attendant devil

a yacht of the International Dragon Class, 8.88m long (29.2 feet), used in racing

chase the dragon slang to smoke opium or heroin

Derived forms of dragon

dragoness, fem ndragonish, adjective

Word Origin for dragon

C13: from Old French, from Latin dracō, from Greek drakōn; related to drakos eye

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with dragon

drag on

Also, drag out. Prolong or be prolonged tediously. For example, The speech dragged on for another hour, or He dragged out the story in an excruciating manner. [First half of 1800s]

dragon

Idioms about dragon

Origin of dragon

OTHER WORDS FROM dragon

Words nearby dragon

Words related to dragon

How to use dragon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dragon

Derived forms of dragon

Word Origin for dragon

Other Idioms and Phrases with dragon