rhea
noun
the ramie plant or fiber.
rhea
1 American
[ree-uh]
/ ˈri ə /
noun
rheas
plural
Rhea
2
American
[ree-uh]
/ ˈri ə /
noun
-
Classical Mythology. a Titan, the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the wife and sister of Cronus, and the mother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia: identified with Cybele and, by the Romans, with Ops.
-
Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.
-
(lowercase) either of two South American, ratite birds, Rhea americana or Pterocnemia pennata, resembling the African ostrich but smaller and having three toes.
-
a female given name.
-rhea
3
American
Rhea
1
British
/ ˈrɪə /
noun
Rhea
2
British
/ ˈrɪə /
noun
rhea
3
British
/ ˈrɪə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rhea1
First recorded in 1850–55, rhea is from the Assamese word rihā
Origin of Rhea2
First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin Rhea, from Greek Rhéa; further origin uncertain
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.
See Examples For:
Their peer-reviewed paper on rhea will be presented at the International Society for Computational Biology's annual conference, which will take place July 12-16 in Montreal.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024
The rhea, nicknamed Chris, escaped from a farm in Diss, Norfolk, in November.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2024
The group took custody of several dozen animals, including a five-month-old, female South American ostrich — or lesser rhea — named Eddy found in the crowded basement.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
The Tehuelche were innovators, too: Outsiders marveled at their bolas, weighted rope snares they swung and launched from horseback to hunt llamalike guanaco and flightless rhea birds.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 7, 2023
Darwin’s rhea is less in size, but very similar in colour, form, and habits.
From The Young Yagers A Narrative of Hunting Adventures in Southern Africa by Reid, Mayne
"Pluribus" star Rhea Seehorn, who won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award earlier this year for the show, is an early favorite for the Emmy for best drama actress.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Kathy Bates, “Matlock” “Emmy voters took their sweet time in recognizing the standout work of Rhea Seehorn on ‘Better Call Saul.’
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
Performance by a female actor in a television series — drama Kathy Bates, “Matlock” Britt Lower, “Severance” Helen Mirren, “MobLand” Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us” Keri Russell, “The Diplomat” Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026
“The U.S. remains the destination for people who have the resources and need to go down that path,” said Margaret Wang, the CEO of the Thiel-backed venture, Rhea Fertility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
What Masten and Rhea do is tell companies how to manipulate our first impressions, and it’s hard not to feel a certain uneasiness about their efforts.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Yet rheas only live in South America, and ostriches only live in Africa.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018
In South America, Darwin saw flightless, ground-dwelling birds called rheas.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018
Ostriches and emus are members of the ratites, a group of flightless birds that also includes rheas and kiwis.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 8, 2011
The ratites include African ostriches and emus, cassowaries, and kiwis, all of the South Pacific and greater and lesser rheas of South America.
From National Geographic
Darwin has hunted rheas in Patagonia, studied owls outside Buenos Aires, and scaled a waterfall in Tahiti.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
