Faust

American  

[foust] / faʊst /

noun

1. Johann c1480–c1538, German magician, alchemist, and astrologer.

2. the chief character of a medieval legend, represented as selling his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power.

3. (italics) a tragedy by Goethe (Part 1, 1808; Part 2, 1832).

4. (italics) an opera (1859) by Charles Gounod.

---

Faust British  

/ ˈfaʊstəs, faʊst /

noun

1. German legend a magician and alchemist who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power

---

Faust Cultural  

1. A legendary sixteenth-century magician and practitioner of alchemy, who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for youth, knowledge, and power. Christopher Marlowe, a sixteenth-century English poet, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote famous plays about him.

---

Discover More

A “Faustian” bargain is one in which a person is willing to make extreme sacrifices for power or knowledge without considering the ultimate cost.

Example Sentences

Faust, 36, currently calls Friday Night MLB games streamed on Apple TV+.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 23, 2025

Yes, Alex Faust has experience replacing a titan of the airwaves.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 23, 2025

Eventually, if the vaccine shows at least 65% efficacy, and further trials take place, Prof Faust said it could be used to protect children too.

From BBC • Oct. 22, 2024

“Ophelia’s Got Talent” jointly won Germany’s Faust prize for best dance production last year, cementing Holzinger’s status as one of Europe’s rising theater stars.

From New York Times • May 28, 2024

Why were the figures of Faust and Prometheus so important to artists of the nineteenth century?

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall