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!

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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

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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.

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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

When the debt couldn’t be repaid on time, it emerged that the money from the bonds was part of an epic fraud centered on cash bribes and secret fees.

From The Wall Street Journal

This marathon epic earned Stoppard his fourth Tony Award for best play.

From Los Angeles Times

The haunting discovery inspired Stoppard to write a multigenerational Jewish family epic that ends with an English-raised boy who doesn’t even know he’s Jewish.

From The Wall Street Journal

I have a crew of six gardening teams, and we collaborate on some epic things like the landscaping at Loreto restaurant in Frogtown, another place I like to go on the weekends.

From Los Angeles Times

Cook's road to his Australian epic began 18 months earlier, at the end of the 2009 Ashes in the UK.

From BBC

Related Words

• legend
• narrative
• tale