hydra

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈhaɪdrə/ UK /ˈhaɪdrə/ See IPA manual

Freq #13010

Meanings

1

noun
in Greek mythology, a many-headed serpent whose severed heads grew back

Heracles defeated the hydra by cauterizing each neck after cutting off its head.
2

noun
a complex, persistent problem that develops new parts when one part is removed

The investigation uncovered a hydra of linked fraud schemes.
3

noun
a small freshwater cnidarian with a tubular body and tentacles around its mouth

Under the microscope, the hydra contracted its tentacles when the water was disturbed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · in greek mythology, a... Lernaean Hydra

2 noun · a complex, persistent... many-sided problemintractable problem

3 noun · a small freshwater... freshwater polyp

More many-headed serpent

Word family

Derived forms hydralikehydranth

Related forms Heraclespolypcnidarian

Etymology

From Latin Hydra, from Ancient Greek hydra, 'water serpent,' related to hydor, 'water.' The regenerating monster inspired the figurative sense of a problem that multiplies when attacked; naturalists later applied the name to the regenerative freshwater polyp.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# hydra

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈhaɪdrə/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhaɪdrə/
**Frequency rank:** 13010

## Meanings
1. in Greek mythology, a many-headed serpent whose severed heads grew back
2. a complex, persistent problem that develops new parts when one part is removed
3. a small freshwater cnidarian with a tubular body and tentacles around its mouth

## Examples
- Heracles defeated the hydra by cauterizing each neck after cutting off its head.
- The investigation uncovered a hydra of linked fraud schemes.
- Under the microscope, the hydra contracted its tentacles when the water was disturbed.

## Synonyms
- many-headed serpent
- intractable problem
- freshwater polyp

## Derived Forms
- hydralike
- hydranth

## Related Forms
- Heracles
- polyp
- cnidarian

## Etymology
From Latin Hydra, from Ancient Greek hydra, 'water serpent,' related to hydor, 'water.' The regenerating monster inspired the figurative sense of a problem that multiplies when attacked; naturalists later applied the name to the regenerative freshwater polyp.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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