odyssey

noun

od·​ys·​sey ˈä-də-sē 

plural odysseys

1

: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune

his odyssey from rural South to urban North, from poverty to affluence, from Afro-American folk culture to a Eurocentric world of books

—J. E. Wideman

2

: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest

an odyssey of self-discovery

a spiritual odyssey from disbelief to faith

Did you know?

Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey, spends 20 years traveling home from the Trojan War. He has astonishing adventures and learns a great deal about himself and the world; he even descends to the underworld to talk to the dead. Thus, an odyssey is any long, complicated journey, often a quest for a goal, and may be a spiritual or psychological journey as well as an actual voyage.

Examples of odyssey in a Sentence

The story is about the emotional odyssey experienced by a teenage girl.

the spiritual odyssey of the deeply religious

Recent Examples on the Web

Borisov, whose Russian henchman Igor grows close to Mikey Madison's titular character over the course or Baker's unpredictable odyssey, has been dominating awards season for his breakthrough performance. —Raven Brunner, People.com, 9 Jan. 2025

Spaceman > Dune: Part 2 Johan Renck remakes Kafka’s Metamorphosis as Adam Sandler’s odyssey about our need for love, a victory over Denis Villeneuve’s drab futurism. —Armond White, National Review, 8 Jan. 2025

His six-season odyssey has been long and arduous, crossing the Pacific Ocean and spanning coast to coast — stretching from his home state of Hawaii to Orlando, Fla., to Norman, Okla., and finally to Eugene, Ore. —Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024

By taking these mass rodent odysseys, squirrels settled new areas, found higher-quality munchies, and, in turn, made more squirrels. —Christine Peterson, Vox, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

the Odyssey, epic poem attributed to Homer recounting the long wanderings of Odysseus

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

odyssey

noun

od·​ys·​sey ˈäd-ə-sē 

plural odysseys

: a long wandering or series of travels

Etymology

named for the Odyssey, a long poem from ancient Greece telling the story of the 10-year wanderings of Odysseus, a Greek hero and king