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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

dragon

/ˈdɹæɡən/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does dragon mean?

noun

  1. In European mythologies, a gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a lizard-like body, often a monster with fiery breath.
  2. In Eastern Asian mythologies, a large, snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually beneficent.
  3. Any of various agamid lizards of the genera Draco, Physignathus or Pogona.
More meanings (16)

noun

  1. A Komodo dragon.
  2. A sea dragon.
  3. The constellation Draco.
  4. The (historical) Chinese empire or the People's Republic of China.
  5. (figuratively) Something very formidable or dangerous.
  6. A class of playing tiles consisting of three types: white dragons, green dragons, and red dragons.
  7. A luminous exhalation from marshy ground, seeming to move through the air like a winged serpent.
  8. A variety of carrier pigeon.
  9. (slang) Synonym of drag queen.
  10. (obsolete) A very large snake; a python.
  11. (derogatory) A fierce and unpleasant woman.
  12. (derogatory, rare, slang) An unattractive woman.
  13. (historical) A type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel with a flared muzzle, often hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier's belt.
  14. (rare) A background process similar to a daemon.

proper noun

  1. The fifth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
  2. Synonym of Devil.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈdɹæɡən/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Many men have a secret monster in this same manner, a dragon which gnaws them, a despair which inhabits their night.
Victor HugoLes MisérablesTranslated by Isabel Florence HapgoodProject Gutenberg ebook #135
The dragon had more heads than the biggest of the giants, and fire and smoke came from every one of them.
Sara Cone BryantHow to Tell Stories to Children, and Some Stories to TellProject Gutenberg ebook #474
More book examples (3)
A carved bird or beast at a corner seemed like some vast walking or flying dragon wasting the pastures and villages below.
G. K. (Gilbert Keith) ChestertonThe innocence of Father BrownProject Gutenberg ebook #204
But I hope Leonard will not be too strict with me— they say he is a very dragon of virtue and circumspection!
Arthur Sullivan; W. S. (William Schwenck) GilbertThe Complete Plays of Gilbert and SullivanProject Gutenberg ebook #808
Such is the change which has taken place in the popular conception of the dragon, which is an impersonification of the thunderstorm.
S. (Sabine) Baring-GouldThe Book of Were-WolvesProject Gutenberg ebook #5324