Synonyms

John Henry

American

noun

plural

John Henries

Informal. a person's signature.
U.S. Folklore. a legendary Black man of exceptional strength and stamina.

Henry, John ¹ Cultural

A hero of American folktales and folk songs. The stories portray him as a black man, enormously strong, who worked on railroads or on steamboats and died from exhaustion after he outperformed a steam drill in a contest.

“John Henry” ² Cultural

An American folksong (see folk music) about the “steel-driving man” John Henry. It contains these lines:
John Henry said to his captain,

“A man ain't nothin' but a man,

And before I'd let your steam drill beat me down,

I'd die with the hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord!

I'd die with the hammer in my hand.”

Etymology

Origin of John Henry

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; from the proper name

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.

National Cash Register founder John Henry Patterson elevated the role of sales and the position of salesperson, recognizing that marketing matters just as much as the product.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025

He even launches into a triumphant monologue about the legend of John Henry: All night long, Morrow says, John Henry drove steel, fighting a machine that could dig deeper and faster.

From Salon • Sep. 24, 2025

John Henry Newman was first made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII, a position he held for 11 years before his death.

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2025

While in the so-called Granite City, he took the chance to visit John Henry Anderson's grave in St Nicholas Kirkyard, and was photographed next to it.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2025

“It is a well-known fact, Brer,” John Henry said.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023