(in folklore) one of a class of preternatural beings, especially from mountainous regions, with magical powers, given to capricious and often mischievous interference in human affairs, and usually imagined to be a diminutive being in human form; sprite; fairy.
a diminutive person, especially a child.
a mischievous person, especially a child.
(in folklore) one of a kind of legendary beings, usually characterized as small, manlike, and mischievous
a mischievous or whimsical child
Plural word for elf The plural form of elf is elves, pronounced [ elvz ]. The plurals of some other singular words that end -f are also formed in this way, including leaf/leaves, wife/wives, and knife/knives. A similar change is made when pluralizing hoof as hooves. Irregular plurals that are formed like elves derive directly from their original pluralization in Old English.
See fairy.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, from Old English ælf, elf, ylf, akin to Old High German alp “incubus” ( Middle High German alp , German Alp “nightmare”), Old Norse álfr, Danish alf “elf” ælfen; see elfin
An elf is a mythological creature that's said to be tiny, magical, and a little mischievous. Elves are not just known for giving Santa a hand. In fact, ancient Anglo-Saxon medical books ascribed some illnesses to elves. Old English texts often blamed elves for sharp pains and mental disturbances — they were said to cause illness with sharp weapons, such as arrows. The folklore and myths of Scotland, Iceland, and Germany are particularly famous for the inclusion of elves. An elf's tiny size has also led to the use of elfin or elf-like to describe a small person's features: "His little elfin nose was so cute."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It would be reductive to frame elf ears as simply an obsession with ears,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
“I was very happy with the results,” said Jung, a 31-year-old influencer, who learned of elf ears when she stumbled across viral videos of others who had the procedure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
It’s shifted over the years — there were stilt walkers for a bit, and Sawdust’s historical site notes there was once a mascot in “Jelf,” part jester, part elf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
“We’re in an elf rally, but we’re on our way to a Santa Claus rally,” said Chris Hyzy of Bank of America Private Bank during an interview Wednesday with CNBC.
From Barron's ● Dec. 4, 2025
Holly Short was a city elf born and bred.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Beauty’s ELF -3.66%decrease; red down pointing triangle guidance for the year disappointed Wall Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Beauty ELF -0.39%decrease; red down pointing triangle tanked after the beauty company issued guidance for the year below Wall Street’s expectations, as uncertainty swirls around the American consumer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
So the federal government went to work pursuing ELF members with alacrity, heaping sentence-lengthening terrorism enhancements on members to the point that, by 2006, the group basically ceased to exist.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2025
Yet all his evidence was still circumstantial, and after several years, the ELF was beginning to look uncatchable.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2022
"Out of eleven wells," says gentle Dulness, "EILF or ELF QUELLEN, whence its name, Elbe for ELF."
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 15 by Thomas Carlyle
You can watch our soldiers rappel out of one of the Seahawks just like Santa’s elves.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
The family only realised there had been a mix-up when he appeared with classmates dressed as elves, Jade said.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
Brownies at that time was a strange organization in which the girls were divided into groups named after different kinds of fairies—pixies, elves and gnomes were the groups in our outfit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
When the topic turns to her bookshelf, Thurman admits she’s become a fan of stories of orcs and elves in love.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2025
Then there was another loud bang, and Peeves the Poltergeist appeared in midair above the wrestling elves.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
