Minotaur

[ min-uh-tawr ]

noun

Classical Mythology. a monster, the offspring of Pasiphaë and the Cretan bull, that had the head of a bull on the body of a man: housed in the Cretan Labyrinth, it was fed on human flesh until Theseus, helped by Ariadne, killed it.
any person or thing that devours or destroys.

Origin of Minotaur

<Latin Mīnōtaurus<Greek Mīnṓtauros, equivalent to Mī́nō(s) Minos + taúros bull

Words Nearby Minotaur

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Minotaur in a sentence

Instead of a man skiing in one and a cowboy riding a bull in the other, the two actually represent the images of the Minotaur.
'The Shining': The Craziest Theories Behind the Film | Jean Trinh | March 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Remember the mythic Minotaur (a Taurus whose desire has run amok)?
The Stars Predict Your Week | Starsky + Cox | October 22, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Like the Minotaur in his labyrinth, you set up a maze others must work through to get to the true you.
Horoscopes: May 29-June 4, 2011 | Starsky + Cox | May 28, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Is there no resource but to cast this man also to the Minotaur?
A Plea for Captain John Brown | Henry David Thoreau
The offspring of this bull was the famous Minotaur which the hero Theseus pursued through its labyrinth, and slew.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome | Emilie Kip Baker

Though smaller and less expensive than the Minotaur she was a far more efficient ship.
How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves | W.H.G. Kingston
She gave Theseus a clue of thread to conduct him out of the labyrinth after his defeat of the Minotaur.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 | Various
I shall send the Minotaur and Audacious the moment we are clear of the west end of Sicily.
Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord de Saumarez. Vol II | Sir John Ross

British Dictionary definitions for Minotaur

Minotaur

/ (ˈmaɪnətɔː) /

noun

Greek myth a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. It was kept in the Labyrinth in Crete, feeding on human flesh, until destroyed by Theseus

Origin of Minotaur

C14: via Latin from Greek Minōtauros, from Minos + tauros bull

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Minotaur

Minotaur

[ (min-uh-tawr) ]

In classical mythology, a monster, half man and half bull. The Minotaur was born to the queen of Crete, Pasiphaë, after she mated with a sacred bull. The king Minos, to hide his shame, had Daedalus construct the Labyrinth in which to hide the monster. Minos then forced the Athenians to send as tribute fourteen of their young people, seven men and seven women, to be locked in the Labyrinth for the Minotaur to eat. To stop the slaughter, the hero Theseus volunteered to enter the Labyrinth and fight the Minotaur. On the instructions of the king's daughter, Theseus brought in a ball of thread, which he unwound as he went through. He found the Minotaur, killed it, and then used the thread to find his way out of the maze.

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