SIREN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Siren mean? 

• SIREN (noun)
  The noun SIREN has 5 senses:

1. a sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs lived

2. a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive

3. a warning signal that is a loud wailing sound

4. an acoustic device producing a loud often wailing sound as a signal or warning

5. eellike aquatic North American salamander with small forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills

  Familiarity information: SIREN used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SIREN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs lived

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

Odysseus ordered his crew to plug their ears so they would not hear the Siren's fatal song

Hypernyms ("Siren" is a kind of...):

sea nymph ((Greek mythology) a water nymph who was the daughter of Oceanus or Nereus)

Instance hyponyms:

Lorelei (a Siren of German legend who lured boatmen in the Rhine to destruction)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Delilah; enchantress; femme fatale; siren; temptress

Hypernyms ("siren" is a kind of...):

adult female; woman (an adult female person (as opposed to a man))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A warning signal that is a loud wailing sound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("siren" is a kind of...):

alarm; alarum; alert; warning signal (an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An acoustic device producing a loud often wailing sound as a signal or warning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("siren" is a kind of...):

acoustic device (a device for amplifying or transmitting sound)

alarm; alarm system; warning device (a device that signals the occurrence of some undesirable event)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Eellike aquatic North American salamander with small forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("siren" is a kind of...):

salamander (any of various typically terrestrial amphibians that resemble lizards and that return to water only to breed)

Holonyms ("siren" is a member of...):

genus Siren (a genus of Sirenidae)

 Context examples 

His face was shining, his eyes flashing with excitement as he translated into articulate language the speech of the horns and sirens.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

A classic Doppler effect example is how the pitch of a police siren drops once it passes.

(Astronomers Study How Quasars Are Powered by Accretion Disks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

That’s a steam-siren a-goin’ it over there to the left.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)