griffin
noun
a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
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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
Renaissance and Medieval pieces, and the “quality camp” or “fantasy furniture” he favored — weird and whimsical pieces embellished with mythical creatures; chairs sprouting antlers, torcheres bedecked with gargoyles, commodes atop griffin feet.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
Hart said the debate over the griffin missed the bigger picture.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2021
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
“Absolutely lovely. May I have the griffin I shot?”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
"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
Ken Griffin, the world’s richest hedge fund owner, said last week that AI is “almost certainly” fueling a market bubble that could be on the verge of a burst.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026
Police identified the gunman as Griffin J John II - a former pupil who had attended special education classes at the school.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Wynonna Judd, Terri Clark, Debby Boone, Patty Griffin and more take the stage in this ‘Great Performances’ celebration of the country singer, recorded earlier this year at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
It’s still dark when the alarm goes off in the morning and Laman Griffin snorts and blows his nose and hawks the stuff from his chest.
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.
