English Reference
Noun

heroics

n.
C1 Advanced US /hɪˈɹoʊɪks/ UK /hɪɹˈəʊɪks/ hero·ics Medicine

n.the act of doing something very brave or impressive, especially in a difficult situation. It often describes a person who performs a great deed to help others.

n.the performance of a brave or impressive act, particularly in a situation of danger or difficulty. Often used to describe the actions of a person who saves another from harm.


SIMPLE

The firefighter performed great heroics to save the trapped family.

CONTEXTUAL

The rescue mission required incredible heroics from the team, as they worked through the storm to reach the stranded hikers.

COMPLEX

While the media often focuses on the heroics of the lead pilot, the success of the mission relied equally on the quiet, technical heroics of the ground crew.

Vozinha, the previously little-known Cape Verde goalkeeper, became a cult hero for his heroics against Spain - the 40-year-old's Instagram growing from 50,000 to nearly 30 million followers.

BBC News· 15 Aug 2026

Arthur Fery is unable to produce a repeat of his Wimbledon heroics as his US Open debut ends in a first-round loss to Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti.

BBC News· 1 Sept 2026

From hero + -ics.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated