epic
Americanadjective
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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.
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resembling or suggesting such poetry.
an epic novel on the founding of the country.
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heroic; majestic; impressively great.
the epic events of the war.
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of unusually great size or extent.
a crime wave of epic proportions.
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Slang. very impressive; spectacular; awesome.
Their burgers and fries are epic!
adverb
noun
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epics
plural
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an epic poem.
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epic poetry.
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any composition resembling an epic.
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something worthy to form the subject of an epic.
The defense of the Alamo is an American epic.
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Also called Old Ionic. Epic. the Greek dialect represented in the Iliad and the Odyssey, apparently Aeolic modified by Ionic.
noun
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a long narrative poem recounting in elevated style the deeds of a legendary hero, esp one originating in oral folk tradition
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the genre of epic poetry
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any work of literature, film, etc, having heroic deeds for its subject matter or having other qualities associated with the epic
a Hollywood epic
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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
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denoting, relating to, or characteristic of an epic or epics
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of heroic or impressive proportions
an epic voyage
Discover More
Figuratively, any task of great magnitude may be called “epic,” as in an “epic feat” or an “epic undertaking.”
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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epiclikeadjective
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nonepicadjective
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nonepicaladjective
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semiepicadjective
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semiepicaladjective
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superepicadjective
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unepicadjective
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epicallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of epic
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin epicus, from Greek epikós; see epos, -ic
Explanation
An epic is a long poem or other work of art celebrating heroic feats. After you sail around the world for seven years, fighting corruption and planting vegetable gardens, some poet will surely write the epic of your adventures. Epic comes from the Greek word for song, because Greek poets like Homer sang their poems. We tend to use epic for long, ambitious novels or movies, especially if they involve a long journey. Epic can be used as an adjective to describe something historically important, lasting and complex. Perhaps your great-grandfather was a soldier in the epic struggle of World War One. Your three day, sleepless card poker game could be described as epic.
Vocabulary lists containing epic
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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AP English Lit exam terms
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Poetry: Genres
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gardner, a software developer living near Asheville, N.C., came up with the idea after soldiering through “King Kong,” Peter Jackson’s 187-minute epic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
With its English version, Hollywood special effects and epic battle scenes, "Ramayana" appears aimed at international audiences as much as the movie-mad country of 1.4 billion people.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
In the pathetic galaxy of Gen Z men, anything from mid-century magazine ads to a Disney-owned sci-fi epic for children can be a stand in for their cultural grievances.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
I wrote what I thought was the most epic love paean of all time called “Love Lasts Forever.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Or was she just someone who made an epic mistake and had to do something epic to fix it?
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
ACOTAR, as it is known to aficionados, blends the swords-and-sorcery of fantasy epics like "Game of Thrones" with the smoldering romance familiar to readers of Danielle Steel.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
The production was announced in March this year as a "rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
His martial instinct was further encouraged by his tutor Aristotle’s regard for Homer’s epics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Damon has explained the decline of mid-sized movies and outsized epics in other venues.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
King praised the students who had, as he put it, “fashioned...a creative protest that is destined to be one of the glowing epics of our time....”
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
