Sometimes Phoenix a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope.
(initial capital letter) a southern constellation between Hydrus and Sculptor.
a person or thing of peerless beauty or excellence; paragon.
a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity or apparent annihilation.
Classical Mythology.
the brother of Cadmus and Europa, and eponymous ancestor of the Phoenicians.
a son of Amyntor and Cleobule who became the foster father of Achilles and who fought with the Greek forces in the Trojan War.
a city in and the capital of Arizona, in the central part.
Military. a 13-foot (4-meter), 989-pound (445-kilogram) U.S. Navy air-to-air missile with radar guidance and a range of over 120 nautical miles.
a legendary Arabian bird said to set fire to itself and rise anew from the ashes every 500 years
a person or thing of surpassing beauty or quality
To “rise like a phoenix from the ashes” is to overcome a seemingly insurmountable setback.
First recorded before 900; from Latin, from Greek phoînix “a mythical bird, purple-red color,” Phoenician, “date palm”; replacing Middle English, Old English fēnix, from Medieval Latin; Latin as above
If you want to see a phoenix, simply locate a unicorn or a centaur, and then you'll be in the right neighborhood. A phoenix is a mythical bird known for rising from its ashes. Don't try that at home! Accordingly to ancient legend, the phoenix is a bird that cyclically burns to death and is reborn from its own ashes. For this reason, the phoenix often serves as a symbol of renewal and rebirth. The name of Phoenix, Arizona is a direct reference to this idea; Phoenix was built upon the ruins of a civilization that had collapsed long before, apparently due to drought.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her outstretched arms on the social media campaign poster are perhaps supposed to make us think of a phoenix rising from the ashes.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Nigerian actress Uche Montana arrived in a dramatic red-and-gold-feathered ensemble she described as representing "fire" and "the rising of the phoenix".
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Darnold proved success in football, like life, is not always linear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026
Local businessman Robert Smethurst bought the club's assets and, with former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage joining the board, they were reformed as a phoenix club.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
The phoenix gains a X X X X rating not because it is aggressive, but because very few wizards have ever succeeded in domesticating it.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Over 50 million miles in driverless operation in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, Waymo’s crash involvement rate was 68% lower than that of human drivers, the organization found.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
After a recent rebranding, the Phoenix school Tyson helped launch is now simply called ELEV8.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Jos Buttler produced a masterful 90 from 50 balls as Manchester Super Giants demolished Birmingham Phoenix by 87 runs to maintain their perfect start to The Hundred.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Fans are flocking to normal digital presentations too, Phoenix Theatres president Cory Jacobson noted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Maybe he’d given the Phoenix Riders a command to choose me as the first pick.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
You may know about dragons and phoenixes, but have you heard of the tarand, a reindeerlike animal who changes color at will?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Ma has won awards with his full body tattoos depicting swashbuckling outlaws and heroes from ancient Chinese literature, mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes and auspicious symbols such as koi fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2019
Yeah definitely, phoenixes are a popular image to get.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2018
Judd said women's voices had been "squelched" in the past, but that they were emerging as "phoenixes".
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2018
On this island lived phoenixes, unicorns, black apes, and white stags.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
Galaxies that appear near bright stars like Beta Phoenicis might be impossible for some observatories on Earth to see, but Euclid’s sharp eyes are able to resolve them.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2024
For example, seven are seen to converge in Lacus Phoenicis, eight in Trivium Charontis, six in Lunae Lacus, and six in Ismenius Lacus.
From The Certainty of a Future Life in Mars by Gratacap, L. P.
"No, sir, nor to Phoenicis, either," answered Fancher.
From Rebels of the Red Planet by Fontenay, Charles Louis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
