Pyrrhus
Americannoun
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319–272 bc , king of Epirus (306–272). He invaded Italy but was ultimately defeated by the Romans (275 bc )
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another name for Neoptolemus
Other Word Forms
- Pyrrhic adjective
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.
After expelling Pyrrhus, Carthage and Rome retook lost territories and added new ones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
One of the more colorful contestants was Pyrrhus, who was not Macedonian but was the king of Epirus and Alexander’s cousin.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
Pyrrhus is the novel’s most interesting character after Briseis, ensnared by the imperative to dominate and subdue as surely as she and the other women are trapped in servitude and submission.
From Washington Post • Aug. 20, 2021
The phrase, about a victory won at too great a cost, refers to King Pyrrhus of Epirus' subduing of Roman forces in the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2015
Some say that Diomedes went with him and others Neoptolemus, also called Pyrrhus, the young son of Achilles.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
