Definition of sphinx
1 (Sphinx) Greek Mythology a winged monster of Thebes, having a woman’s head and a lion’s body. It propounded a riddle about the three ages of man, killing those who failed to solve it, until Oedipus was successful, whereupon the Sphinx committed suicide.
) an ancient Egyptian stone figure having a lion’s body and a human or animal head, especially the huge statue near the Pyramids at Giza.
(usually sphinx) an enigmatic or inscrutable person. 2 (also sphinx moth)another term for hawk moth.
Remember that sphinx
is spelled with sph-
at the beginning.