superhero
Americannoun
-
superheroes
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of superhero
First recorded in 1895–1900; from French super-héros
Explanation
A fictional character with extraordinary powers who saves people from danger is a superhero. In real life, anyone who comes to the rescue can also be called a superhero. You know a superhero when you see one: in the movies or comics, they wear costumes and fight crime. Wonder Woman, Superman, Black Panther, and Iron Man are all familiar superheroes who use their superhuman abilities in amazing ways. Ordinary people who do amazing things — saving a child from drowning, running into a burning building for a pet cat, raising huge amounts of money for a good cause — are also superheroes.
Vocabulary lists containing superhero
Hands
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Comic Book Day
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A Boy Called Bat
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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:
The superhero film fronted by Tom Holland and real-life wife Zendaya has brought in more than $2 billion globally since its July 31 release, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The dweeb so desperately wanted to be a superhero that he launches a war against real ones in order to turn their powers into weapons he then sells to a gullible public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
As with every comic book superhero, it’s all in their origin stories.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Mr. Pierre is solid, stolid superhero material; Mr. Chandler is pure mischief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
If you’re not a superhero or a sorcerer, my memory is bad at retaining any information about you.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Unlike so many other superheroes, Peter Parker is one of us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
There is a chance Holland pops up with all the other superheroes in “Avengers: Doomsday,” out the same day, though his involvement hasn’t been confirmed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
At the end of term, Dáibhin's school dedicated a day to him, with his classmates dressing up as superheroes in his honour.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
What should have been a unique way for “Supergirl” to remark on the infantilization projected onto so many women superheroes is cast away as a joke so lame it doesn’t even deserve to be finished.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
We watch a movie about superheroes, which is normally exactly the kind of movie that Jamie and I would gush over for hours together.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
