1
a
: a story coming down from the past
especially
: one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable
the legend of a lost continent
Arthurian legends
b
: a body of such stories
a place in the legend of the frontier
c
: a popular myth of recent origin
the legend of the Loch Ness monster
d
: a person or thing that inspires legends
a baseball legend
e
: the subject of a legend
its violence was legend even in its own time—
William Broyles Jr.
William Broyles Jr.2
a
: an inscription or title on an object (such as a coin)
The quarter bore the legend "In God We Trust."
b
: caption sense 2b
The legend identifies the various parts of the illustrated anatomy.
c
: an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart
Examples of legend in a Sentence
I don't believe the legends I've heard about this forest.
the legend of a lost continent
He has become a baseball legend.
The gravestone bears the legend “Rest in Peace.”
Recent Examples on the Web
And a new class of music legends will enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2025
The fallout between the two legends stems from a broader web of disagreements: 50 Cent feels betrayed by Big Meech’s association with Rick Ross, who has traded public barbs and diss tracks with 50 for years.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 28 Apr. 2025
The metal legends only just returned with a brand new full-length studio effort, Invincible Shield, a little over a year ago, and while some may have assumed a long break in between drops was coming, the band had a different plan.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Until recently, the legend of Brian Steel was a provincial story, known mainly by his Georgia peers.
—Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legend
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Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2025
The fallout between the two legends stems from a broader web of disagreements: 50 Cent feels betrayed by Big Meech’s association with Rick Ross, who has traded public barbs and diss tracks with 50 for years.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 28 Apr. 2025
The metal legends only just returned with a brand new full-length studio effort, Invincible Shield, a little over a year ago, and while some may have assumed a long break in between drops was coming, the band had a different plan.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Until recently, the legend of Brian Steel was a provincial story, known mainly by his Georgia peers.
—Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legend
Cite this Entry
“Legend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
legend
noun
leg·end
ˈlej-ənd 
1
: a story coming down from the past whose truth is popularly accepted but cannot be checked
2
a
: writing or a title on an object
b
c
: an explanatory list of the symbols on a map or chart
Etymology
Middle English legende "a legend," derived from Latin legenda "something to be read," derived from earlier legere "to gather, read"
Word Origin
The Latin verb legere originally meant "to gather." In time the verb came to mean "to gather with the eye, to see," and that led to the sense "to read." From this verb came the Latin noun legenda, used in the Middle Ages to mean "a thing to be read." Legenda was used to refer in particular to stories about the lives of saints. Many such stories were written in the Middle Ages, and they often included fiction along with fact. Because of that, when legenda was borrowed into English as legend, it came to mean "a story coming down from the past which may or may not be entirely true."
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