dragon

American  

[drag-uhn] / ˈdræg ən /

noun

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

2. Archaic. a huge serpent or snake.

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

4. the dragon, Satan.

5. a fierce, violent person.

6. a very watchful and strict woman; duenna.

7. flying dragon.

8. 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.

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

10. a soldier armed with such a musket.

11. Astronomy. Dragon, the constellation Draco.

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idioms

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

dragon British  

/ ˈdræɡən /

noun

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

2. informal a fierce or intractable person, esp a woman

3. any of various very large lizards, esp the Komodo dragon

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

5. Christianity a manifestation of Satan or an attendant devil

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

7. slang to smoke opium or heroin

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Other Word Forms

• dragoness noun
• dragonish adjective
• dragonlike adjective

Etymology

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”

Example Sentences

The Colombians would mark the bricks with a dragon symbol, inspired by a bracelet Kassis wore, and ship them to the Syrian port of Latakia in a container ostensibly laden with bananas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

One quirk of dragon fruit farming is that its flowers only bloom at night and into the early hours of the morning.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Dr Sunila Kumari, is also on a mission to find the most promising varieties of dragon fruit for Indian farmers.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Mero, in collaboration with fellow street artist Wild Life, has turned the blighted space into a fantastical haven with a knight, a dragon and more — a decaying castle from a bygone era.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

But he could feel the question-new of it inside his head, almost as if the dragon were using its ferocious little claws to etch a question mark into his brain.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville