Definition of "phoenix" []

• Mythology A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes. (noun)
• A person or thing of unsurpassed excellence or beauty; a paragon. (noun)
• A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Also known widely as the Fire Bird, the phoenix is a profound symbol of the circle of life."
• "He talks obliquely about what he calls a phoenix rising from its ashes, an allusion that escapes us in its entirety."
• "And it’s home of the anti-immigrant “minutemen” movement … Jeebus even walking around in phoenix is freaky because they have the open carry law so you see people brandishing their handguns with them like everywhere …"