AMAZON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Amazon mean? 

• AMAZON (noun)
  The noun AMAZON has 4 senses:

1. a large strong and aggressive woman

2. (Greek mythology) one of a nation of women warriors of Scythia (who burned off the right breast in order to use a bow and arrow more effectively)

3. a major South American river; arises in the Andes and flows eastward into the South Atlantic; the world's 2nd longest river (4000 miles)

4. mainly green tropical American parrots

  Familiarity information: AMAZON used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AMAZON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A large strong and aggressive woman

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

amazon; virago

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

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

(Greek mythology) one of a nation of women warriors of Scythia (who burned off the right breast in order to use a bow and arrow more effectively)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

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

mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)

Domain category:

Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A major South American river; arises in the Andes and flows eastward into the South Atlantic; the world's 2nd longest river (4000 miles)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

Amazon; Amazon River

Instance hypernyms:

river (a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek))

Holonyms ("Amazon" is a part of...):

Brasil; Brazil; Federative Republic of Brazil (the largest Latin American country and the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world; located in the central and northeastern part of South America; world's leading coffee exporter)

Peru; Republic of Peru (a republic in western South America; achieved independence from Spain in 1821; was the heart of the Inca empire from the 12th to 16th centuries)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Mainly green tropical American parrots

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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

parrot (usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds)

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

Amazona; genus Amazona (a genus of Psittacidae)

 Context examples 

A study found that, instead of increasing downriver, fish diversity decreases closer to the mouth of the Amazon, concentrating more upriver at the western portion of the basin.

(Amazon fish ‘face new threats’, SciDev.Net)

By analysing the measurements collectively, they found that trees growing in wetland areas of the Amazon subject to seasonal flooding emit 21.2 million tonnes of methane gas to the atmosphere every year.

(Amazon trees are major source of methane emission, SciDev.Net)

Chagas disease is one of the major health problems facing countries and states in the Amazon region, causing disability in infected people and more than 10,000 deaths per year.

(Açaí fruit can transmit Chagas disease, SciDev.Net)

Most of the discoveries in the latest issues occurred in conservation units in the Amazon.

(Report unveils 381 new plant and animal species in Amazon, Agência Brasil)

A team of Brazilian researchers studied particles released during the burning of biomass using material they collected in the Amazon forest, to assess how inhaling them can impact on human health.

(Lung damage from agricultural fires probed, SciDev.Net)

In some cases, such as in the Amazon rainforest, that water vapor can jumpstart precipitation.

(How trees affect the weather, National Science Foundation)

Most cases of malaria seen in Brazil occur in the Amazon and are thought to be caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax.

(Human malaria spread from monkeys found in Brazil, SciDev.Net)

This giant could store as much carbon as an entire hectare of rainforest elsewhere in the Amazon.

(Expedition finds tallest tree in the Amazon, University of Cambridge)

You will open it when you reach a town upon the Amazon which is called Manaos, but not until the date and hour which is marked upon the outside.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

An herbal supplement containing an extract from guarana (Paullinia cupana), a climbing plant of the Sapindaceae family which is native to the Amazon basin, with stimulant, antioxidant and potential chemoprotective activities.

(Guarana Supplement, NCI Thesaurus)