heroine
Americannoun
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a woman noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.
Esther and other biblical heroines.
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a woman who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal.
Name two women who have been heroines in your life.
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the principal female character in a story, play, film, etc.
noun
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a woman possessing heroic qualities
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a woman idealized for possessing superior qualities
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the main female character in a novel, play, film, etc
Gender
See hero.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of heroine
1650–60; < Latin hērōīnē < Greek hērōī́nē, feminine of hḗrōs hero; see -ine 2
Explanation
A heroine is a real-life or fictional woman who has lots of courage and fights on the side of good, maybe by rescuing a kitten from a tree, slaying an evil dragon, or helping you with your science fair project. In books and movies, the heroine is the woman who is the main character, and in comic books and fantasy novels, heroines often have superpowers that help them accomplish incredible feats. There are heroines in regular life too, like women’s rights activists who fight against sexism, or a brave mother who rescues her child from a burning building. Heroine sounds the same as the addictive drug heroin, but a heroine will save your life, while heroin will probably end it.
Vocabulary lists containing heroine
Wonder Woman's Superpower Words
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Reading: Literature - Middle School
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Reading: Literature - High 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.
"Like its own heroine, it feels stuck somewhere between the show it thought it wanted to be and the show it has the potential to become," she wrote.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
Suddenly there’s interest from a yes-chef-centric prestige drama called “The Boar,” as well as the return of an old eating disorder that has our heroine sneaking off to the bathroom, in danger of toppling everything.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
As in “Safe,” the heroine is driven by the doubting crowd into the embrace of the few who believe her.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
By highlighting Eve’s rebellion alongside her beauty, ads framed her as a fashion heroine.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
The main character, Mary Richards, was a young, single woman who was interested not in starting a family—as practically every previous television heroine had been—but in advancing her career.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions 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.
