# centaur

/ˈsɛnˌtɔɹ/ (US) · /sˈɛntɔː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/centaur
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. mythology

noun · CEFR B2

a creature from Greek myths with the head and chest of a man and the body of a horse.

For teachers: a mythological creature represented as having the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.

- In the story, the centaur galloped through the forest with a bow and arrow.
- Classical Greek pottery often depicts the centaur as a wild, untamed creature, contrasting the rational human torso with the animalistic equine body.

### 2. astronomy

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a small, icy object in space that orbits the sun between Jupiter and Neptune.

For teachers: a class of small solar system bodies that orbit between the giant planets and behave like both asteroids and comets.

- Astronomers discovered a new centaur orbiting far beyond the planet Saturn.
- Because their orbits are frequently unstable due to the gravitational influence of giant planets, a centaur is typically short-lived in astronomical terms.

### 3. human-AI collaboration

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a team made of a human and a computer working together to solve a problem.

For teachers: a collaborative system, particularly in chess or data analysis, where human intuition and machine processing power are combined.

- The centaur team won the chess tournament by combining human strategy with computer speed.
- In the field of advanced analytics, the centaur model leverages human domain expertise to refine the raw outputs of machine learning algorithms.

## Examples

- The artist painted a centaur holding a bow and arrow.
- In the museum, a marble statue of a centaur was displayed alongside other ancient Greek sculptures.
- While the mythological centaur represents a blend of human intellect and animal strength, the astronomical version describes a transient object whose orbit is significantly influenced by the gravitational pull of the outer planets.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.