- a large, powerful animal of the cat family that hunts in groups and lives in parts of Africa and southern Asia. Lions have yellow-brown fur and the male has a mane (= long, thick hair round its neck).
- The lion shook its mane and roared.
- a pride of lions (= a group of them)
- Over the past two months, 13 lions have been killed by poachers.
- He had once been chased and almost eaten by a lion.
- Young Masai men gather for traditional lion hunts.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary… of lions- pride
- growl
- roar
- attack somebody
- …
- cub
- tamer
- hunt
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from Anglo-Norman French liun, from Latin leo, leon-, from Greek leōn, leont-.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Idioms
See lion in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarythe lion’s den
- a difficult situation in which you have to face a person or people who are unfriendly or aggressive towards you
the lion’s share (of something)
- the largest or best part of something when it is divided
to beard the lion in his den
- to go to see an important or powerful person to tell them that you disagree with them, that you want something, etc.Topics Opinion and argumentc2
Check pronunciation:
lion