epic

American  

[ep-ik] / ˈɛp ɪk /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style.

   Homer's Iliad is an epic poem.

2. resembling or suggesting such poetry.

   an epic novel on the founding of the country.

3. heroic; majestic; impressively great.

   the epic events of the war.

4. of unusually great size or extent.

   a crime wave of epic proportions.

5. Slang. very impressive; spectacular; awesome.

   Their burgers and fries are epic!

---

adverb

1. Slang. very; extremely.

   That's an epic cool video!

noun

1. an epic poem.

2. epic poetry.

3. any composition resembling an epic.

4. something worthy to form the subject of an epic.

   The defense of the Alamo is an American epic.

5. Also called Old Ionic.  Epic. the Greek dialect represented in the Iliad and the Odyssey, apparently Aeolic modified by Ionic.

epic British  

/ ˈɛpɪk /

noun

1. a long narrative poem recounting in elevated style the deeds of a legendary hero, esp one originating in oral folk tradition

2. the genre of epic poetry

3. any work of literature, film, etc, having heroic deeds for its subject matter or having other qualities associated with the epic

   a Hollywood epic

4. an episode in the lives of men in which heroic deeds are performed or attempted

   the epic of Scott's expedition to the South Pole

---

adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or characteristic of an epic or epics

2. of heroic or impressive proportions

   an epic voyage

epic Cultural  

1. A long narrative poem written in elevated style, in which heroes of great historical or legendary importance perform valorous deeds. The setting is vast in scope, covering great nations, the world, or the universe, and the action is important to the history of a nation or people. The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid are some great epics from world literature, and two great epics in English are Beowulf and Paradise Lost.

---

Discover More

Figuratively, any task of great magnitude may be called “epic,” as in an “epic feat” or an “epic undertaking.”

Other Word Forms

• epically adverb
• epiclike adjective
• nonepic adjective
• nonepical adjective
• semiepic adjective
• semiepical adjective
• superepic adjective
• unepic adjective

Etymology

Origin of epic

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin epicus, from Greek epikós; epos, -ic

Example Sentences

The epic challenge - which has been completed by less than 250 people - concluded in Miami, US on 6 February.

From BBC

"It's been an epic ride and truly the privilege of a lifetime."

From Barron's

It is closer to music than epic, a mesmerizing suite of songs that conveys Tennyson’s private sorrow as he vacillates from unbearable agony to precarious hope.

From The Wall Street Journal

It says KPop Forever! will "take audiences on a journey that they will never forget with four epic live vocalists, accompanied by four world class dancers amidst a background of eye-popping lighting and effects".

From BBC

In the play, which begins as historic epic and becomes, for Goethe, increasing personal and interior, Egmont gains perspective on the complexities of his place in politics by contemplating nature and being.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• legend
• narrative
• tale