cyclops

noun

cy·​clops ˈsī-ˌkläps 

1

plural cyclopes sī-ˈklō-(ˌ)pēz  capitalized : any of a race of giants in Greek mythology with a single eye in the middle of the forehead

2

plural cyclops [New Latin, genus name, from Latin] : any of a genus (Cyclops) of freshwater predatory copepods having a single median eye

Examples of cyclops in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sandberg wanted to populate the film with all sorts of monsters from mythology: minotaurs, cyclops, harpies, and… are those demonic unicorns? —Devan Coggan, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2023

Fans will remember the catchphrases — lickety brindle, the golden ladder, cyclops. —Bill Oram, oregonlive, 21 Jan. 2023

Jean-François Lesport and Antoine Heitz from the Natural History Museum Basel and Floréal Solé, a specialist in carnivorous mammals named the new specimen Tartarocyon, after a giant cyclops known in Basque mythology. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 15 June 2022

Flipping the crown also meant flipping the cyclops window from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock, which looks wonderfully odd and eccentric. —Carol Besler, Robb Report, 2 Aug. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek Kyklōps, from kykl- cycl- + ōps eye

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cyclops

noun

cy·​clops ˈsī-ˌkläps 

1

plural cyclopes sī-ˈklō-ˌpēz  capitalized : one of a race of giants in Greek legend with a single eye in the middle of the forehead

2

plural cyclops : a water flea with a single eye

Medical Definition

cyclops

noun

cy·​clops ˈsī-ˌkläps 

1

plural cyclopes sī-ˈklō-(ˌ)pēz  : an individual or fetus abnormal in having a single eye or the usual two orbits fused

2

capitalized : a genus of minute free-swimming copepods that have a large median eye, a pear-shaped body tapering posteriorly, and long antennules used in swimming, that are widely distributed and abundant in fresh waters, that are important elements in certain aquatic food chains, and that directly affect humans as intermediate hosts of certain parasitic worms see guinea worm

3

plural cyclops : a copepod water flea of the genus Cyclops