phoenix
/ˈfiːnɪks/
phoenix noun: a mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes.
Noun (1)
phoenix (plural phoenix or phoenixes or phoenices)
- A mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes.
- burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 19”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC
- Anything that is reborn after apparently being destroyed.
- Astronomers believe planets might form in this dead star's disk, like the mythical Phoenix rising up out of the ashes.
- Lord Allerton was that modern phœnix, a young man, without a single objection.1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter II, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 17
- A mythological Chinese chimerical bird whose physical body symbolizes the six celestial bodies; a fenghuang.
- A Greek silver coin used briefly from 1828 to 1832, divided into 100 lepta.
- The national currency, the phoenix, which had been established by Kapodistrias, was renamed after an ancient Greek coin, the drachma.2019, Roderick Beaton, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, Penguin, published 2020, page 116
- A marvelous person or thing.
- He may not be a phœnix of cleverness in your sense; his profession is different; but it would be all the better for you to talk a little on his subjects.1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter LVIII, in Middlemarch […], volume III, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book VI, page 282
- A geometer moth of species Eulithis prunata.
Verb
phoenix (third-person singular simple present phoenixes, present participle phoenixing, simple past and past participle phoenixed)
- To transfer assets from one company to another to dodge liability
- Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association CEO John Winter said phoenixing has been "endemic" for decades.2019 December 17, Noel Gladstone, Carrie Fellner, “Small business flattened by 'dodgy' builders in phoenixing epidemic”, in The Sydney Morning Herald
- The ATO defines iIllegal^([sic – meaning illegal]) phoenixing as when a new company is created to continue the business of a company that has been deliberately liquidated to avoid paying its debts, including taxes, creditors and employee entitlements.2020 September 24, Anne Davies, “Phoenixing: how unscrupulous dealers rise debt-free from the ashes of failed companies”, in The Sydney Morning Herald
Proper noun capitalized: Phoenix
Phoenix
- A mythical firebird; especially the sacred one from ancient Egyptian mythology.
- A spring constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble the mythical bird. It lies north of Tucana.
- A companion of Achilles to the Trojan War in the Iliad, son of Amyntor and father of Adonis.
- A son of Agenor and Telephassa, brother of Europa and Cadmus, eponym of Phoenicia.
- A port town of ancient Lycia, in modern Antalya Province, Turkey; modern Finike.
- A town of ancient Caria, near modern-day Taşlıca Marmaris district, Muğla Province, Turkey.
- A port town of ancient Crete, in the modern municipality of Sfakia, Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece; modern Loutro.
- A port town of ancient Crete, in the modern municipality of Agios Vasileios, Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece; modern Foinikas.
- The capital city of Arizona, and the county seat of Maricopa County.
- A man was arrested Saturday in College Park, Georgia, after he was accused of throwing a sex toy on to the court during the Dream’s 29 July game with the Golden State Valkyries, according to a police report. The report said he threw another sex toy during the Dream’s game on Friday against the...2025 August 8, “Another WNBA game disrupted by sex toy thrown on court in Chicago”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 Aug 2025
- An unincorporated community in Putnam County, Georgia.
- A village in Thornton Township, Cook County, Illinois.
- An unincorporated community in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
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- An unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland.
- An unincorporated community in Houghton Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan.
- An unincorporated community in Yazoo County, Mississippi.
- A neighbourhood of Edison Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
- A neighborhood of Sayreville borough, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
- A village in the town of Schroeppel, Oswego County, New York.
- A city in Jackson County, Oregon.
- A community in Clearwater County, Alberta.
- A ghost town in the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, British Columbia.
- A town north-west of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
- A nickname sometimes used for Japan after World War II.
- A surname.
- A male given name.
- A female given name.
Noun (2) capitalized: Phoenix
Phoenix
- A German breed of long-tailed chicken.
- A geometer moth of species Eulithis prunata.
- A white variety of grape of German origin used for winemaking.
phoenix meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
phoenix in Hindi
- mythological bird
- अमरपक्षी amarpakṣī, अमर-पक्षी amar-pakṣī, ककनूँ kaknū̃, ककनू kaknū, हुमा humā, सीमुर्ग sīmurg
phoenix in Tamil
- ஃபீனிக்ஸ், பீனிக்ஸ்
phoenix in Marathi
- फीनिक्स, फिनिक्स, फीनिक्सला
phoenix in Urdu
- mythological bird
- ققنس qaqnus
More languagesFewer languages
- phoenix in Bengali
- ফিনিক্স phinikśo
- phoenix in Telugu
- ఫీనిక్స్, ఫినిక్స్, ఫీనిక్సు
- phoenix in Malayalam
- ഫീനിക്സ്, ഫീണിക്സ്, ഫീനിക്സും
- phoenix in Kannada
- ಫೀನಿಕ್ಸ್, ಫೀನಿಕ್ಸಿಂಗ್, ಫೀನಿಕ್ಸ್ಗೆ
- phoenix in Punjabi
- ਕੁਕਨਸ kuknas
- phoenix in Gujarati
- ફીનિક્સ, ફિનિક્સ, ફીનિક્સ સુધી
- phoenix in Odia
- ଫିନିକ୍ସ, ଫୀନିକ୍ସ, ଫିନିକ୍ସିଂ
- phoenix in Nepali
- फिनिक्स, फीनिक्स, फोनिक्स
- phoenix in Tagalog
- peniks
- phoenix in Arabic
- فِينِيكْس fīnīks, فُقْنُس fuqnus, عَنْقَاء ʕanqāʔ, فِينِيق fīnīq
- phoenix in Indonesian
- feniks, foniks, funiks
- phoenix in Persian
- ققنس qaqnos, ققنوس qoqnus
- phoenix in Thai
- นกฟีนิกซ์
Examples of phoenix in a sentence
- Wine caps, and other tasty species like the phoenix oyster mushroom, can be grown this way.
- I like birds and dragons and combined the two into my birdsona, Blaze the phoenix dragoness.
- Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse.
Forms of phoenix
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | phoenix |
| plural | phoenixes |
| plural | phoenices |
| alternative form (archaic) | phenix |
| alternative form (archaic) | phœnix |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | phoenixes |
| present participle | phoenixing |
| past participle | phoenixed |
| past | phoenixed |
Origin of phoenix
From Old English and Old French fenix, from Medieval Latin phenix, from Latin phoenīx, from Ancient Greek φοῖνιξ (phoînix), from Egyptian b-n:nw*w-G31 (bnw, “grey heron”). Doublet of Bennu. The grey heron was venerated at Heliopolis and associated in Egypt with the cyclical renewal of life because the bird rises in flight at dawn and migrates back every year in the flood season to inhabit the Nile waters.
From Latin phoenīx, Phoenīx, from Ancient Greek φοῖνῐξ (phoînĭx), Φοῖνῐξ (Phoînĭx).
Words formed from phoenix
- Phoenix Park
- Phoenixville
- American small phoenix
- bokkeveld phoenix
- frosted phoenix
- like a phoenix from the ashes
- northwestern phoenix moth
- phoenix aeolid
- phoenix barb
- phoenix billbug
- phoenix bitter-pea
- phoenix blackclock
- phoenix damsel
- phoenix devil
- phoenix emerald moth
- phoenix fly
- phoenix iris (Hypochrosis iris
- phoenixism
- phoenixity
- phoenix jumping spider
- phoenixlike
- phoenix palm
- phoenix petrel
- phoenix quaker
- phoenix rising
- phoenix sandperch
- phoenix talussnail
- phoenix tetra
- Serbian phoenix flower
- small phoenix
- sphinx phoenix
- Texas phoenix palm decline
Phrases with phoenix
Words that rhyme with phoenix
Questions about phoenix
- What does phoenix mean?
- Phoenix means a mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes.
- What is phoenix in Hindi?
- Phoenix in Hindi is अमरपक्षी (amarpakṣī), अमर-पक्षी (amar-pakṣī), ककनूँ (kaknū̃). See Phoenix meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is phoenix?
- Phoenix can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce phoenix?
- Phoenix is pronounced /ˈfiːnɪks/.
- What is the plural of phoenix?
- The plural of phoenix is phoenix.
Words near phoenix in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: phoenix (page history and authors); Phoenix (page history and authors); phoenix (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); phoenix (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); phoenix (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); phoenix (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); phoenix (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ਕੁਕਨਸ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); phoenix (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); phoenix (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); phoenix (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-phoenix.wav, en-us-Phoenix.ogg.
Cite this entry: “phoenix.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phoenix. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.