dragon
Americannoun
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dragons
plural
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a mythical monster generally represented as a huge, winged reptile with crested head and enormous claws and teeth, and often spouting fire.
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Archaic. a huge serpent or snake.
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Bible. a large animal, possibly a large snake or crocodile.
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the dragon, Satan.
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a fierce, violent person.
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a very watchful and strict woman; duenna.
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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.
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a short musket carried by a mounted infantryman in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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a soldier armed with such a musket.
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Astronomy. Dragon, the constellation Draco.
idioms
noun
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a mythical monster usually represented as breathing fire and having a scaly reptilian body, wings, claws, and a long tail
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informal a fierce or intractable person, esp a woman
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any of various very large lizards, esp the Komodo dragon
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any of various North American aroid plants, esp the green dragon
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Christianity a manifestation of Satan or an attendant devil
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a yacht of the International Dragon Class, 8.88m long (29.2 feet), used in racing
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slang to smoke opium or heroin
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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”
Explanation
A dragon is a fire-breathing mythological animal, a winged, flying, scaly creature. In many European legends, brave knights battle evil dragons. The dragon shows up in the mythologies of many different cultures, usually breathing fire and resembling a giant reptile or serpent with wings. The monster in the ancient Mesopotamian poem the "Epic of Gilgamesh" is often called a dragon, and the Old English story "Beowulf" also features a fearsome dragon. In several Asian cultures, dragons represent wisdom, nature, and longevity. The Greek root is drakon, "serpent" or "giant seafish."
Vocabulary lists containing dragon
Ancient Greece: Mythology and Literature - Middle School
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Ancient Greece: Mythology and Literature - Introductory
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Chinese History - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Wizen was photographing a lichen dragon katydid measuring just 15mm long, making it difficult to distinguish from the lichen around it.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The team intentionally chose the name Syrax because several traits of the fictional dragon are reflected in the newly described lizard.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
He’s experienced plenty of hard knocks since being disfigured in battle by his power-hungry brother, via Vhagar’s dragon fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
In one case a baby Komodo dragon was hidden in plain sight, inside a crate of ordinary monitor lizards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The dragon snorted, sending out a tiny puff of smoke.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Acanthosaura syrax belongs to a group of agamid lizards known as mountain horned dragons, which are distinguished by the spiny crests that extend along the neck and back.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
No dragons, of course, but plenty of political conniving, clashing swords and last-minute escapes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
The slog of the dragons: Fool me once, shame on you.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
While the Americans are favored to advance to the Round of 16, what’s certain is that the team known as the Zmajevi, or dragons, won’t make the game particularly fun for their hosts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
She couldn’t possibly know how bad dragons were.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
