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Definition of "sphinx" [sphinx]

  • Mythology A figure in Egyptian myth having the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram, or hawk. (noun)
  • Greek Mythology A winged creature having the head of a woman and the body of a lion, noted for killing those who could not answer its riddle. (noun)
  • A puzzling or mysterious person. (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.

Use "sphinx" in a sentence
  • "We grow it, and we found what we identified as sphinx moth larvae on the plants."
  • "A sphinx is a mythological creature that is depicted as a recumbent feline with a human head."
  • "His sphinx is a statue, his hind of arcadia is your garden variety moose, as his Cerberus is a urinating hiding mafioso and his three Rhodesian ridgebacks."