Polyphemus

American

[pol-uh-fee-muhs] / ˌpɒl əˈfi məs /

noun

Classical Mythology.

a Cyclops who was blinded by Odysseus.

Polyphemus British

/ ˌpɒlɪˈfiːməs /

noun

Greek myth a cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus and his companions in his cave. To effect his escape, Odysseus blinded him

"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

Example Sentences

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Meanwhile, there is a first look at the man-eating cyclops, Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

The EU says a primitive form of feta is mentioned in the Odyssey, when the hero of the ancient epic takes cheese from the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Extraordinary bass-baritone Davóne Tines, also best known for bringing intense immediacy to new music, is the gripping Polyphemus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2020

Tellingly, Polyphemus lives among animals—he “counts a sheep and a ram as his closest companions”—and suffers in otherwise undisturbed isolation.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 16, 2015

Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023