epic
Americanadjective
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noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style.
Homer's Iliad is an epic poem.
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resembling or suggesting such poetry.
an epic novel on the founding of the country.
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heroic; majestic; impressively great.
the epic events of the war.
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of unusually great size or extent.
a crime wave of epic proportions.
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Slang. very impressive; spectacular; awesome.
Their burgers and fries are epic!
adverb
noun
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an epic poem.
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epic poetry.
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any composition resembling an epic.
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something worthy to form the subject of an epic.
The defense of the Alamo is an American epic.
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Also called Old Ionic. Epic. the Greek dialect represented in the Iliad and the Odyssey, apparently Aeolic modified by Ionic.
noun
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a long narrative poem recounting in elevated style the deeds of a legendary hero, esp one originating in oral folk tradition
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the genre of epic poetry
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any work of literature, film, etc, having heroic deeds for its subject matter or having other qualities associated with the epic
a Hollywood epic
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an episode in the lives of men in which heroic deeds are performed or attempted
the epic of Scott's expedition to the South Pole
adjective
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denoting, relating to, or characteristic of an epic or epics
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of heroic or impressive proportions
an epic voyage
Discover More
Figuratively, any task of great magnitude may be called “epic,” as in an “epic feat” or an “epic undertaking.”
Other Word Forms
- epically adverb
- epiclike adjective
- nonepic adjective
- nonepical adjective
- semiepic adjective
- semiepical adjective
- superepic adjective
- unepic adjective
Etymology
Origin of epic
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin epicus, from Greek epikós; epos, -ic
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.
Among his many works of fiction were political thrillers, historical epics and drolly observed comedies.
Updating the calculations for gold’s recent epic run, investment consultants Nicholas Conant and Mark Wood of Callan gave the cube some benefit of the doubt by enlarging it with all of the bullion since mined.
Video taken Monday afternoon in Washington Square Park shows a snowball fight following an epic snowstorm devolving into some parkgoers apparently targeting police with snowballs.
From BBC
A pasting at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain might have coloured their last European campaign but Inter got to that final by seeing off Bayern Munich and Barcelona in epic knockout ties.
From Barron's
Rather than being so grand and epic in scale, it’s still small and simple and hopeful.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
