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• sphinx
  sphinx

  noun

  (in ancient Egypt)
• Sphinx
  Sphinx

  noun

  Greek myth a monster with a woman's head and a lion's body. She lay outside Thebes, asking travellers a riddle and killing them when they failed to answer it. Oedipus answered the riddle and the Sphinx then killed herself

sphinx

American  

[sfingks] / sfɪŋks /

noun

• sphinxes,
  plural
• sphinges
  plural

1. (in ancient Egypt)

   1. a figure of an imaginary creature having the head of a man or an animal and the body of a lion.

   2. (usually initial capital letter) the colossal recumbent stone figure of this kind near the pyramids of Giza.

2. (initial capital letter) a monster, usually represented as having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. Seated on a rock outside of Thebes, she proposed a riddle to travelers, killing them when they answered incorrectly, as all did before Oedipus. When he answered her riddle correctly the Sphinx killed herself.

3. any similar monster.

4. a mysterious, inscrutable person or thing, especially one given to enigmatic questions or answers.

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Sphinx ¹ British  

/ sfɪŋks /

noun

1. Greek myth a monster with a woman's head and a lion's body. She lay outside Thebes, asking travellers a riddle and killing them when they failed to answer it. Oedipus answered the riddle and the Sphinx then killed herself

2. the huge statue of a sphinx near the pyramids at El Gîza in Egypt, of which the head is a carved portrait of the fourth-dynasty Pharaoh, Chephrēn

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sphinx ² British  

/ sfɪŋks /

noun

1. any of a number of huge stone statues built by the ancient Egyptians, having the body of a lion and the head of a man

2. an inscrutable person

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Sphinx ¹ Cultural  

1. In the story of Oedipus, a winged monster with the head of a woman and the body of a lion. It waylaid travelers on the roads near the city of Thebes and would kill any of them who could not answer this riddle: “What creatures walk on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?” Oedipus finally gave the correct answer: human beings, who go on all fours as infants, walk upright in maturity, and in old age rely on the “third leg” of a cane.

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Sphinx ² Cultural  

1. A great sculpture carved from the rock near the Egyptian pyramids in about 2500 b.c. It depicts a creature from Egyptian mythology with the head of a man and the body of a lion. (See under “Mythology and Folklore.”)

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Discover More

The sphinx of Greek mythology resembles the sphinx of Egyptian mythology but is distinct from it (the Egyptian sphinx had a man's head). (See under “Fine Arts.”)

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sphinges
  plural
• sphinxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sphinx

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin < Greek sphínx, equivalent to sphing-, base of sphíngein to hold tight ( cf. sphincter) + -s nominative singular ending

Explanation

A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head. The original sphinx of Greek mythology also had wings. The most famous statue of a sphinx is in Giza, Egypt. The Great Sphinx of Giza is the one you've probably heard of — it's near the pyramids on the banks of the Nile River. Most sphinxes were made to represent various Egyptian pharaohs. The original Greek sphinx told riddles and ate those who couldn't solve them, until Oedipus finally got one right and that sphinx died. In Greek, sphinx means "the strangler.” If someone is like a sphinx, it just means they’re mysterious and quiet, not that they’ll strangle you.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sphinx Sphinx sphinges sphinxes

The banker operated like a sphinx at the center of some of the most interesting and polarizing events in our history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Her formidable, untitled 2026 sphinx regally commands its space among ancient Egyptian and Roman sculpture, a marvel of the cross-temporal and cross-spatial, spiked with specific references to Black self-determination.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

While the 11 rival candidates crisscrossed the central African country pressing the flesh ahead of the October 12 vote, Biya's campaign has been largely virtual, true to his reputation as a secretive "sphinx".

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025

The Czech entrepreneur has been described as a "quiet sphinx" for his inscrutable style.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024

“The sphinxes will know we landed. It’s best not to keep them waiting. An impatient sphinx is a dangerous thing.”

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

The event took place near the Great Pyramid of Giza; one photo shows the couple kissing at sunset with the Sphinx and pyramids in the background.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

The Riddle of the Sphinx flashed through my mind: What walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon and three at night?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

He soon realized that the icon’s reputation as a Sphinx was well-deserved.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024

This week, host June Thomas talks to Anna Shechtman, a crossword puzzle creator whose new book is called The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle.

From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2024

The great Dutch painter Jan Vermeer has been called the Sphinx of Delft, for all his paintings have a degree of mystery.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

We no longer write of ideæ, chori, asyla, musea, sphinges, specimina for ideas, choruses, asylums, museums, sphinxes, specimens, and the notion of returning to such plurals would seem barbarous and absurd.

From Society for Pure English, Tract 03 (1920) A Few Practical Suggestions by Society for Pure English

In it are depicted small sphinxes, cult items and an altar, all items recovered from the ruins of Antirhodos and depicting a scene that likely would have taken place in the temple.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025

There were pompous society dowagers with melting faces, young beauties with speckled dresses, unexpected sphinxes and nature spirits.

From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

The hieroglyphics and artwork on the courtyard walls outside match the original theater design, including the sphinxes, ancient markers of mystery and quiet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

Ancient Egyptian sphinxes often represented a king or royal with the body of a lion, as a symbol of might and power.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2023

The walls were hung with tapestries from Norvos and Qohor and Lys, and a pair of Valyrian sphinxes flanked the door, eyes of polished garnet smoldering in black marble faces.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

• conundrum
• enigma
• problem
• question
• riddle
• secrecy
• subtlety
• thriller