Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Henry IV

American  

noun

  1. 1050–1106, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and king of Germany 1056–1106.

  2. BolingbrokeHenry of Lancaster, 1367–1413, king of England 1399–1413 (son of John of Gaunt).

  3. Henry of NavarreHenry the Great, 1553–1610, king of France 1589–1610: first of the French Bourbon kings.

  4. (italics) a two-part drama (Part 1, 1597?; Part 2, 1597–98?) by Shakespeare.


Henry IV British  

noun

  1. 1050–1106, Holy Roman Emperor (1084–1105) and king of Germany (1056–1105). He was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII, whom he deposed (1084)

  2. surnamed Bolingbroke. 1367–1413, first Lancastrian king of England (1399–1413); son of John of Gaunt: deposed Richard II (1399) and suppressed rebellions led by Owen Glendower and the Earl of Northumberland

  3. known as Henry of Navarre. 1553–1610, first Bourbon king of France (1589–1610). He obtained toleration for the Huguenots with the Edict of Nantes (1598) and restored prosperity to France following the religious wars (1562–98)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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:

The text of Player Kings will be entirely made up of Shakespeare dialogue, however the parts one and two of Henry IV are being condensed and reorganised into one show.

From BBC Nov. 14, 2023

That chair has since been used in the coronation ceremonies of English and British monarchs since Henry IV in 1399.

From Reuters Apr. 28, 2023

After reading countless documents that described King Henry IV standing barefoot in the snow for days as he waited to beg forgiveness from Pope Gregory in 1077, Mr. Woodward included the anecdote in his paper.

From New York Times Jan. 20, 2023

But in the same play, Shakespeare’s Henry IV remarked that “fortune never come with both hands full.”

From Washington Post Sep. 12, 2022

With the fighting dragging on, Henry IV was not crowned until 1594, a year after he had once again declared himself to be a Catholic, and even then the conflict with Spain continued.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training