Pied Piper
Americannoun
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the hero of a German folk legend, popularized in The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1842) by Robert Browning.
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Sometimes pied piper a person who induces others to follow or imitate them, especially by means of false or extravagant promises.
noun
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Also called: the Pied Piper of Hamelin. (in German legend) a piper who rid the town of Hamelin of rats by luring them away with his music and then, when he was not paid for his services, lured away its children
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(sometimes not capitals) a person who entices others to follow him
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.
A neo-traditionalist and pied piper for the New York downtown set, Keith and his nine lives most recently turned to Instagram after a stroke impaired his ability to speak.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025
Smith oozes upside, and he’s passionate about the Ducks — a bonus in that he could be a pied piper who attracts other recruits.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2024
This pied piper who enchanted some of the world's biggest and supposedly smartest investors has moved on.
From BBC • Nov. 7, 2023
Every time Pitino walked down a hallway, he looked like the pied piper with the New Yorkers trailing in his wake.
From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2023
They remember only that the bankiva sang sweetly, and they followed it, as the children of Hamelin followed the pied piper.
From Myths & Legends of our New Possessions & Protectorate by Skinner, Charles M. (Charles Montgomery)
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.
