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• hero
  hero

  noun

  a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.
• Hero
  Hero

  noun

  a priestess of Aphrodite who drowned herself after her lover Leander drowned while swimming the Hellespont to visit her.

Trivia Time

Hero is derived from the ancient Greek word hērōs. What does hērōs mean?

Test Your Knowledge

hero

¹ American  

[heer-oh] / ˈhɪər oʊ /

noun

• heroes,
  plural
• heros
  plural

1. a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.

   He became a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal.

   My older sister is my hero.

   Entrepreneurs are our modern heroes.

3. an animal acknowledged for its courageous acts, devotion to duty, etc..

   This police dog hero was shot during the apprehension of a suspect.

4. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.

   Synonyms:

   star, lead

   Antonyms:

   heavy, villain

5. Classical Mythology.

   1. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.

   2. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.

   3. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.

6. hero sandwich.

7. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich.

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adjective

1. being or relating to a person or animal noted for special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities, especially bravery or devotion to duty; heroic.

   A hero cat helped a firefighter spot a small child in a burning building.

2. (in advertising and marketing) especially notable, important, or central.

   Producing new hero content twice a year can help your brand grow.

   Your hero product should be obvious on your website.

verb (used with object)

1. to praise or treat as special; laud.

   We hero the moms who were writing parenting guides and giving advice to new mothers.

   Over the years, the judging panel has rightly heroed brands championing equal rights.

2. to bring to attention; highlight.

   These dishes beautifully hero the fresh organic ginger.

Hero ² American  

[heer-oh] / ˈhɪər oʊ /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a priestess of Aphrodite who drowned herself after her lover Leander drowned while swimming the Hellespont to visit her.

2. Also Heron Hero of Alexandria, flourished 1st century a.d., Greek scientist.

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Hero ¹ British  

/ ˈhɪərəʊ /

noun

1. 1st century _ad , Greek mathematician and inventor

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hero ² British  

/ ˈhɪərəʊ /

noun

1. a man distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, etc

2. a man who is idealized for possessing superior qualities in any field

3. classical myth a being of extraordinary strength and courage, often the offspring of a mortal and a god, who is celebrated for his exploits

4. the principal male character in a novel, play, etc

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Hero ³ British  

/ ˈhɪərəʊ /

noun

1. Greek myth a priestess of Aphrodite, who killed herself when her lover Leander drowned while swimming the Hellespont to visit her

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Hero Scientific  

/ hē′rō /

1. Greek mathematician who wrote on mechanics and invented many water-driven and steam-driven machines. He also developed a formula for determining the area of a triangle.

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Usage

Plural word for hero The plural form of the noun hero is heroes. The plurals of other singular words that end in -o are also formed in this way, including potato/potatoes, tomato/tomatoes, and echo/echoes. This can be confusing, because in some instances, words that end in -o are pluralized by simply adding an -s to the end, as in mango/mangos and flamingo/flamingos. However, the plural form heros is only valid when hero is used in the sense of a “hero sandwich.” This usage is very rare.

Gender

In its earliest use, the word hero was applied almost exclusively to a man. The corresponding word heroine was–and still is–reserved for a woman. Hero is still sometimes used to refer specifically to a man: British heroes and heroines. But hero is now considered to be a gender-neutral word, and is also increasingly used to refer to a woman: a list of American heroes; Joan of Arc, a French hero. In the sense "the principal character in a story, play, etc.," a hero is male and a heroine is female: Margaret is the novel’s heroine.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subhero
  noun
• unhero
  noun
• herolike
  adjective
• unherolike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heroes
  plural
• heros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hero

First recorded in 1605–15; back formation from Middle English heroes (plural), from Latin hērōs (singular), hērōes (plural), from Greek hḗrōs, hḗrōes

Explanation

Yes, a hero is a kind of sandwich. But when David Bowie sings, “We can be heroes,” he’s not talking about sandwiches. He’s talking about the more popular kind of hero — the kind who saves your life! A hero is someone who does fantastic things that people love. The guy who rescues a skater from a frozen pond is a hero. A hero can be the main character of a story, too, if people root for him. Spiderman is the hero of the comic series: he's the central character, but he also saves people. The word hero goes back to the Greek, referring to a demigod.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hero Hero heroes heros

It feels as if he’s letting us in on a private communion with his hero as he deepens his own pianism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Based on Homer's epic, Nolan's film retraces the hero Odysseus in a perilous journey to his home on the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War in the 12th century BCE.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

“I’ll be a bigger hero than you ever were!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

That is what makes a Lantern a hero, and this adaptation one of the best of its kind in a long time.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Which was stupid if you’re not a hero, and I wish I’d never done it and I especially wish that I’d never ever wished that you were my father instead of Jack.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

And speaking of dogs, the family has Shields’ golden retriever, a Rottweiler named Fancy, a giant schnauzer named Goose and two Belgian Malinois named Hero and Baymax.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The grammy-nominated star had a string of other hits, including Holding out for a Hero and also represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

First came the Diona, then the Hero II and the Sonia 1.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Find insight on Uber, Delivery Hero, United Airlines and more in the latest Market Talks covering auto and transport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Soon afterward, Dusya was posthumously given the Gold Star of Hero of the Soviet Union, the first of the 46th Guards to be awarded this medal.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

She wrote how the farmers were "heroes" and now needed help to rebuild fencing destroyed by flame, as well as cover the cost of emergency feed and water for their animals during heatwave conditions.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Bare and Huddleston, two self-described “country hicks,” have become polarizing heroes of the rural campaign against the AI technology rewiring geopolitics, the economy—and now hometowns like theirs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

And that may explain why they seem to be less popular than other DC heroes.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Thus, our heroes must peel themselves off from the couch and go on the run with their resentful felines Dio and GG bouncing along in backpacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Your heroes can stay alone on their island, and the tourists can find somewhere else to explore.”

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

To mix it up, leftovers can easily be made into meatball heros.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2021

I’m sure the jobless, teachers, medical heros and first responders can sleep well tonight knowing these two gentlemen can survive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2020

“I met one of my heros today,” Shaw tweeted with his picture with Emma Gonzalez.

From Washington Times ● May 12, 2018

Have one of their fabulous heros or hot dishes, then peruse the varied dried pasta section.

From New York Times ● Jan. 23, 2018

The name of the locality itself was derived from this "heros eponymos."

From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by T. L. (Thomas Louis) Haines

Related Words

• eidolon
• example
• exemplar
• good example
• icon
• ideal
• idol
• model
• paragon
• person to look up to
• role model
• shining example