noun
epic
EHP-ihk
noun
1
A long narrative poem or story celebrating the heroic deeds of a legendary figure.
"Homer's "Odyssey" is one of the most famous epics in Western literature."
adjective
1
Impressively large, heroic, or grand in scale.
"The film's epic battle scenes took months to film."
"We went on an epic road trip across three countries."
How to Use Epic
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA grand, heroic story — or, informally, anything impressively big or memorable.
When to use it
The informal sense ("that party was epic") is casual slang, common since the 2000s.
Common pairings
epic battle
epic fail
epic journey
Word Forms
more epic comparative, epics plural, most epic superlative
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “epic”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Homer's "Odyssey" is one of the most famous _____ in Western literature.
Etymology
From Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, related to epos, "word, story."