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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hero.

Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.

4 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation[ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ~ˈçɪə.ɹəʊ]Received-Pronunciation/ˈhɪɹ.oʊ/Canada, General-American/ˈhiɹ.oʊ/Canada, General-American
  1. Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.

    My mom died a hero on duty.
  2. A role model.

  3. The protagonist in a work of fiction.

  4. The current player, especially a hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: villain (“any opponent player”). Not to be confused with hero call (“a weak call against a supposed bluff”).

    Let's discuss how to play if the hero has KK, and there's an ace on board.
  5. A large sandwich made from meats and cheeses.

    New-York
  6. The product chosen from several candidates to be photographed, as in food advertising, or with props used in a movie.

    attributive
  7. The eye-catching top portion of a web page, sometimes including a hero image; the portion above the fold.

  8. The standout component of a dish; the part of a dish that should take center stage on the palate.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (“hero”), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”); if so, related to Latin servo (“protect”). Displaced Middle English heleð, haleð, from Old English hæleþ, hæle.

verb/ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation[ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ~ˈçɪə.ɹəʊ]Received-Pronunciation/ˈhɪɹ.oʊ/Canada, General-American/ˈhiɹ.oʊ/Canada, General-American
  1. To act as a hero (brave person; role model; or protagonist).

    informal · intransitive
  2. To praise or laud.

    transitive
  3. To bring attention to; to highlight; to spotlight.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (“hero”), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”); if so, related to Latin servo (“protect”). Displaced Middle English heleð, haleð, from Old English hæleþ, hæle.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.