Meaning & use
dragon
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Meanings
nouncountable
A huge imaginary reptile-like monster in legends, often with wings and able to breathe fire.
Grammar: Takes a plural: the knight faced two dragons.
Patterns
- slay a dragon
- a fire-breathing dragon
In the story, the knight set out to slay the dragon guarding the village.
The children drew a green dragon with huge wings.
Chinese dragons in folklore are often kind and bring rain.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A fierce, domineering person, especially a woman who frightens others.
Grammar: Informal and often unkind, so be careful when talking about real people.
Patterns
- a real dragon
The receptionist was a dragon who guarded the director's door.
Their landlady turned out to be a bit of a dragon.
Nobody dared ask the old headmistress, a famous dragon, for extra time.
nouncountablebiology
A large lizard of tropical Asia, as in the Komodo dragon, or another reptile named for its resemblance.
Grammar: Usually part of a compound name: Komodo dragon, bearded dragon.
Patterns
- a Komodo dragon
- a bearded dragon
The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard.
Our class keeps a bearded dragon as a pet.
Rangers keep visitors a safe distance from the dragons on the island.
Word forms
| plural | dragons |
|---|
Common combinations
- slay a dragon
- The hero had to slay a dragon to win the treasure.
- fire-breathing dragon
- A fire-breathing dragon appears in the opening scene.
- dragon's lair
- They crept toward the dragon's lair at dawn.
- dragon boat
- Teams paddled hard in the dragon boat race.
- Komodo dragon
- A Komodo dragon can run surprisingly fast over short distances.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wyvern
- A wyvern is a two-legged winged dragon, a narrower term used in heraldry and fantasy.
- wyrm
- Wyrm is an old, literary word for a dragon or serpent, mostly seen in fantasy writing.
- battle-axe
- Battle-axe is an informal insult for a harsh woman and matches the second sense only.
Word family
Commonly confused: dragon or drag on?
dragon vs drag on
This phrasal verb means to continue for too long; it is a different word that only looks similar.
Practice
In which sentence does dragon mean a fierce, bossy person?
Choose one answer.
Calling a person a dragon means they are fierce and intimidating. The other sentences use dragon for the myth, the lizard or the parade.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dragon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.