the state capital and largest city located in south central Arizona; situated in a former desert that has become a prosperous agricultural area thanks to irrigation
"After visiting the historic downtown, we took a tour of Phoenix's vast orchards to see how the arid desert transformed into such a thriving agricultural hub."
a large monocotyledonous genus of pinnate-leaved palms found in Asia and Africa
"The local botanist identified the rare palm as a phoenix species while cataloging specimens from the tropical gardens."
a legendary Arabian bird said to periodically burn itself to death and emerge from the ashes as a new phoenix; according to most versions only one phoenix lived at a time and it renewed itself every 500 years
"The ancient legend describes how the sole phoenix would ignite its own nest after five centuries, only to rise again from the embers in rejuvenated form."
a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Tucana and Sculptor
"As an amateur astronomer, she spent her summer nights scanning the dark skies of the southern hemisphere to locate the faint outline of the Phoenix constellation near Tucana and Sculptor."
A mythological bird, said to be the only one of its kind, which lives for 500 years and then dies by burning to ashes on a pyre of its own making, ignited by the sun. It then arises anew from the ashes.
"The legend says that when the ancient city was consumed by fire, a phoenix arose from the ruins to rebuild it with renewed life."
In plain English: A phoenix is a legendary bird that dies in flames and then rises again from its own ashes to live a new life.
"The city was known as a phoenix because it rose from the ashes of the war to rebuild itself."
Usage: Use "phoenix" as a noun to refer either to the specific mythological bird that rises from its own ashes or metaphorically to any person or thing that is reborn after destruction. Do not use it to describe other birds or animals, even if they are rare or legendary.
A mythical firebird; especially the sacred one from ancient Egyptian mythology.
"The archaeologist traced the origins of the golden statue to a temple dedicated to the pharaoh's beloved phoenix, the sacred firebird of ancient Egypt."
The word phoenix entered English through Old French and Medieval Latin, tracing its roots to the Ancient Greek term for a specific Egyptian bird known as the grey heron. Originally associated with the cyclical renewal of life in Egypt, the name was applied to the legendary mythical creature that rises from the ashes.