Advertisement

Advertisement

Icarus

[ ik-er-uhs, ahy-ker- ]

noun

  1. Also Ik·a·ros []. Classical Mythology. a youth who attempted to escape from Crete with wings of wax and feathers but flew so high that his wings melted from the heat of the sun, and he plunged to his death in the sea.
  2. Astronomy. an asteroid whose eccentric orbit brings it closer to the sun than any other known asteroid.


Icarus

/ ˈaɪ-; ˈɪkərəs /

noun

  1. Greek myth the son of Daedalus, with whom he escaped from Crete, flying with wings made of wax and feathers. Heedless of his father's warning he flew too near the sun, causing the wax to melt, and fell into the Aegean and drowned


Icarus

/ ĭkər-əs /

  1. A small asteroid with a highly eccentric, Earth-crossing orbit that takes it to within 30 million km (19 million mi) of the Sun, or closer than the planet Mercury. In 1968 Icarus approached within 6 million km (4 million mi) of the Earth.
  2. See more at asteroid


Icarus

  1. In classical mythology , the son of Daedalus . Icarus died tragically while using artificial wings, invented by his father, to escape from the Labyrinth . When Icarus flew too close to the sun , it melted the wax that held the wings together, and he fell into the sea.


Discover More

Example Sentences

A paper published in the journal Icarus documents the first simulations to find out.

But like the Icarus of her poems, Sor Juana ended up flying too close to the sun.

“The Fall of Icarus”, by Hendrick Goltzius, is one of my all-time favorite images by one of my all-time favorite artists.

In Greek mythology, Icarus was a young lad being held in prison with his father by an evil King.

His latest book is The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris .

His latest book, The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris, is available from HarperCollins.

The present moment was not exciting; she had no plans and projects in her head; she was not about to court the fate of Icarus.

The next morning after the visit of the officer from the Icarus, the little girl rose early.

How many things I took for facts,— Icarus and his conduct lax, And how he sealed his fate with wax!

Let us now return the pinions we borrowed from Icarus, and prepare to bid farewell to the wilds.

He fastened them on with wax, and Icarus flying too near the sun, his wings melted and he fell into the Aegean.

Advertisement

Word of the Day

petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Icarian SeaICBM