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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Henderson artfully links the Polyphemus myth to the “hierarchy of species” found in Aristotle’s “Generation of Animals.”

From The New Yorker • Dec. 16, 2015

Polyphemus, the Cyclops, crouches atop one set of revolving doors, and the Stymphalian birds, known for their toxic dung, hover over another.

From New York Times • Jul. 10, 2014

Tyson worked his way around Polyphemus, trying to get behind him.

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