[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/epic.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / epic

[← E](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/E/)

# epic

«epic» in Mova's school dictionary: **A long poem or story about the adventures of heroes…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (epic, epics); adjective (epic, more epic)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (noun) A long poem or story about the adventures of heroes, often in ancient times, such as the Odyssey or Beowulf. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#m1)

2) (noun) A long film or book about big, exciting events. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#m2)

3) (adjective) Very big, long, brave or impressive: «an epic journey». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#m3)

4) (adjective, slang) Really great, amazing: «That party was epic!» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#m4)

5) (adjective, slang) «epic fail» — a huge, funny failure. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In English and history: epic poems (the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, Gilgamesh), heroes and quests. In everyday and children's slang: «epic» for anything brilliant. Phrases: «an epic journey», «epic battle», «epic fail» (slang), «of epic proportions».

### examples

- Beowulf is an old English epic about a hero who fights a monster. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x1)
- Homer's Odyssey is an epic poem. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x2)
- The explorers made an epic journey across the ice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x3)
- We watched an epic film about knights and dragons. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x4)
- That water fight was epic! (slang) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x5)
- Falling in the pond in my new clothes was an epic fail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x6)
- The final was an epic battle that went to penalties. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x7)
- CALLIOPE, the most honoured of the Muses, presided over heroic song and epic poetry, and is represented with a pencil in her hand, and a slate upon her knee. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/#x8)

### note

Countable noun. The slang senses («epic!», «epic fail») are informal — not for formal writing. Do not confuse with «epoch» (a long period of time). Adjective form also «epical» (rare).

### In the corpora

- [Stories of great floods appear in many ancient cultures, for example in the Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/3-noah-and-the-tower-of-babel/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «epic» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/epic/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.