myth

noun

ˈmith 

1

a

: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon

creation myths

b

: parable, allegory

Moral responsibility is the motif of Plato's myths.

2

a

: a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone

especially : one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society

seduced by the American myth of individualism

—Orde Coombs

the utopian myth of a perfect society

b

: an unfounded or false notion

the myth of racial superiority

3

: a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence

the Superman myth

The unicorn is a myth.

4

: the whole body of myths

a student of Greek myth

Did you know?

Myth and Urban Myth

For a word so often applied to events or stories from long, long ago, myth has a remarkably recent history in the English language. The earliest evidence for the word is from 1830, well after the time when the events themselves are thought to have occurred (though it should be noted that the related words mythology and mythic are hundreds of years older – still not as old as Achilles, but not young, either!). One application of myth, however – in the phrase urban myth – is quite new. Curiously, an urban myth does not usually have anything to do with the city: it is simply “a story about an unusual event or occurrence that many people believe is true but that is not true.” An example would be the tale that Elvis Presley is still alive after spending decades in a witness protection program. The phrase urban myth has been used to describe such hoaxes since at least 1971.

Synonyms

• fable
• legend
• mythos

Examples of myth in a Sentence

It's an enduring myth that money brings happiness.

I don't believe the myths and legends about this forest.

Contrary to popular myth, no monster lives in this lake.

Recent Examples on the Web

Politics Trump’s Cabinet picks will test Senate independence Nov. 14, 2024 Kennedy spread the myths — refuted by science — that vaccines commonly injure children and cause autism. —James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024

Similar myths abound in American culture, which frequently casts pain relief and pleasure as inseparable physical and psychological experiences—different sides of the same coin. —Richard A. Friedman, The Atlantic, 29 Nov. 2024

Discuss the myths and facts of some of the nocturnal animals, including owls and bats, found in Volusia County. —Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024

More than any drug since crack, the stories of fentanyl’s spread through the United States brush up against the edge of myth. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier mythos, mythus, borrowed from Greek mŷthos "utterance, speech, discourse, tale, narrative, fiction, legend," of obscure origin

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing myth

• counter-myth
• self-perpetuating myth

Kids Definition

myth

noun

ˈmith 

1

: a story often describing the adventures of superhuman beings that attempts to describe the origin of a people's customs or beliefs or to explain mysterious events (as the changing of the seasons)

2

: a person or thing that exists only in the imagination

the dragon is a myth

3

: a popular belief that is false or unsupported