Macbeth

American  

[muhk-beth, mak-] / məkˈbɛθ, mæk- /

noun

1. died 1057, king of Scotland 1040–57.

2. (italics) a tragedy (1606?) by Shakespeare.

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Macbeth British  

/ mæk-, məkˈbɛθ /

noun

1. died 1057, king of Scotland (1040–57): succeeded Duncan, whom he killed in battle; defeated and killed by Duncan's son Malcolm III

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Macbeth Cultural  

1. A tragedy by William Shakespeare, in which the Scottish nobleman Macbeth, misled by the prophecy of three witches and goaded on by his wife, murders the king and usurps the throne. Well-known lines from the play include “Lay on, Macduff” and “Out, damned spot!”

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Example Sentences

Actors won’t say “Macbeth” in a theater, baseball players won’t talk to a pitcher when he’s throwing a no-hitter, and White House staff won’t say “recession” when the economy turns sour.

From Barron's

Ibsen’s tragic anti-heroine shares character DNA with Medea and Lady Macbeth.

From Los Angeles Times

Last year, the 18-year-old "second spear carrier" found himself playing the lead in the Royal Shakespeare Company's new production of Macbeth.

From BBC

Her “Macbeth,” for example, staged the summer after 9/11, featured soldiers in U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mescal had done the usual “Romeo and Juliet” and “Macbeth” as a drama student, but he says it seemed obligatory for an aspiring actor to love Shakespeare.

From The Wall Street Journal