griffin
noun
a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
griffin
1 American
[grif-in]
/ ˈgrɪf ɪn /
Also
griffon,
noun
Classical Mythology.
griffin
2
American
[grif-in]
/ ˈgrɪf ɪn /
noun
Griffin
3
American
[grif-in]
/ ˈgrɪf ɪn /
noun
-
a city in W Georgia.
-
a male given name.
griffin
1
British
/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /
noun
griffin
2
British
/ ˈɡrɪfɪn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of griffin1
1300–50; Middle English griffoun < Middle French grifon < Latin grȳphus < Greek grȳp- (stem of grȳ́ps ) “curled, curved, having a hooked nose”
Origin of griffin2
First recorded in 1785–95; origin uncertain
Explanation
If your little brother wants a pet griffin, you should probably try to talk him out of it. A griffin is a flying, eagle-headed lion with sharp talons. (Luckily for you, griffins aren't real.) The mythical griffin — also spelled gryphon or griffon — dates as far back as 3000 BCE. Some griffins have the front talons of an eagle, like the griffins that appear on shields or coats-of-arms — they were often used this way, since the combination of lion and eagle was seen as being especially brave and strong. Griffins appear in literature ranging from Rumi's ancient Persian poetry to the Harry Potter books. The word's Greek root is gryps, "curved."
Vocabulary lists containing griffin
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Middle School
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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:
On the left arm, the mythical griffin creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle appears to be fighting with a stag.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025
You can’t have a lot of body horror in a kid’s movie, but you can have a topiary griffin who torrentially evacuates dead leaves across the backyard in a beautiful, disgusting arc.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2018
At first she believed it to be some kind of mythical creature, a California version of a minotaur or a griffin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2018
History will show whether they got what they needed waiting as long as they did — 13 other cornerbacks were selected before the Seahawks took griffin.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2017
The professor moved the second hand to the griffin and the third to the dolphin.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Soccer by hedge-fund mogul Ken Griffin, Pochettino quickly found out what he was up against.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
Josh Adams added two tries to scores from prop Archie Griffin and wing Louis Rees-Zammit as Wales claimed a bonus-point win.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
"The neural activity that we measure at the scalp is just not as distinct in autistic children," says first author Jason Griffin, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at University of Houston.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026
“This fundraiser is about more than one painful experience,” Griffin wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Mam sends Michael with a milk bottle of warm tea, a few cuts of bread smeared with dripping, a note to say Laman Griffin isn’t angry anymore and I can come back.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
