myth

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈmɪθ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/mɪθ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(mith)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
myth /mɪθ/USA pronunciation   n. 
  1. Mythology a traditional story, esp. one that involves gods and heroes and explains a practice or some natural object or phenomenon:[countable]Greek, Roman, Chinese, Japanese, African, and Indian myths.
  2. Mythology stories of this kind thought of as a group;
    mythology:[uncountable]the study of ancient myth.
  3. an invented story, fictitious person, etc.: [uncountable]His account of the event is pure myth.[countable]Her story is just a myth.
  4. a belief or set of beliefs that surround a person, a phenomenon, or an institution:[countable]myths of racial superiority.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
myth  (mith),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Mythologya traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, esp. one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.
  2. Mythologystories or matter of this kind:realm of myth.
  3. any invented story, idea, or concept:His account of the event is pure myth.
  4. an imaginary or fictitious thing or person.
  5. an unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution.
  • Greek mŷthos story, word
  • Late Latin mȳthos
  • 1820–30
    1. See legend. 3. fiction, fantasy, talltale.
myth., 
    1. mythological.
    2. mythology.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
myth /mɪθ/ n
    • a story about superhuman beings of an earlier age taken by preliterate society to be a true account, usually of how natural phenomena, social customs, etc, came into existence
    • another word for mythology, mythology
  2. a person or thing whose existence is fictional or unproven
Etymology: 19th Century: via Late Latin from Greek muthos fable, word
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
myth. abbreviation for
  1. mythological
  2. mythology
'myth' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
anthroposophy - mythical - mythicize - myth. - mytho- - mythologize - mythopoeia - mythos - Nerval - Sorel - Strauss - urban myth - Acheron - Achilles - Acis - Actaeon - Actis - actor - Actoridae - Admete - Admetus - Adonis - Adrastus - Aeacides - Aeacus - Aeaea - Aëdon - Aeëtes - Aegina - Aegir - aegis - Aegisthus - Aeneas - Aeolus - Aërope - Aesir - Aetolus - afreet - Agamede - Agamemnon - Agelaus - Aglaia - Agni - Agriope - Agrius - Aidoneus - Aineias - Ajax - Akh - Alalcomeneus
Collocations: [an urban, a great, a religious, a folk] myth, a [Roman] myth, an ancient [Roman] myth, more...

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