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• myth
  myth

  noun

  a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.
• myth.
  myth.

  abbreviation

  mythological.

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myth

¹ American  

[mith] / mɪθ /

noun

1. a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.

2. stories or matter of this kind.

   realm of myth.

3. any invented story, idea, or concept.

   His account of the event is pure myth.

   Synonyms:

   fantasy, fiction

4. an imaginary or fictitious thing or person.

5. an unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution.

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myth. ² American  

abbreviation

1. mythological.

2. mythology.

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myth ¹ British  

/ mɪθ /

noun

1. 1. a story about superhuman beings of an earlier age taken by preliterate society to be a true account, usually of how natural phenomena, social customs, etc, came into existence

   2. another word for mythology mythology

2. a person or thing whose existence is fictional or unproven

3. (in modern literature) a theme or character type embodying an idea

   Hemingway's myth of the male hero

4. philosophy (esp in the writings of Plato) an allegory or parable

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myth. ² British  

abbreviation

1. mythological

2. mythology

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Synonym Usage

See legend.

Other Word Forms

• countermyth
  noun

Etymology

Origin of myth

First recorded in 1820–30; from Late Latin mȳthus, from Greek mŷthos “story, word”

Explanation

A myth is a story that’s told again and again and serves to explain why something is the way it is. A creation myth, for example, is a story that tells how the world came into being. You may have studied Greek or Roman myths in which gods and goddesses wage war and play tricks on each other. These myths are not necessarily true stories from the past — the main idea is that they explain certain ideas about the world and how people act. The story might be accepted as true and serve to explain some fact about the world, or it might be known to be made-up but nevertheless illustrates something about people or history.

Example Sentences

In Maggie O’Farrell’s “Land,” an ecstatic father informs his son that “myth is fact and fact is myth, and both are embodied in the land itself.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

He said that the actress’ “strength and poise” were critical to bringing the myth to life on the big screen.

From Salon • May 24, 2026

I, like many women, was raised on the myth of marriage.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

While there is little doubt it was mined in India, its history thereafter is a mixture of myth and fact, with several countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan also laying claim to the gem.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

The big bang had been spotted; the myth of the static universe was dead.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• fable
• fantasy
• fiction
• illusion
• imagination
• legend
• lore
• parable
• superstition
• tale
• tradition