What does phoenix mean?
Word: Phoenix
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Phoenix means a bird in old stories that lives for hundreds of years and then rises new from its own ashes.
How do you spell phoenix?
Syllables: phoe - nix
Tricky part: The ee sound is spelt oe, a rare pair in English, and spellers often swap the two letters.
Watch out for: pheonix, pheenix, phoenics
Memory tip: Picture the old bird before the new egg: o for old comes ahead of e for egg.
Idioms and Phrases
- rise like a phoenix from the ashes: to become strong or successful again after a big setback. Example: "The little bookshop rose like a phoenix from the ashes when the whole street helped to reopen it."
Phoenix in a sentence
Example 1: A phoenix with golden wings is painted on the wall of our art room.
Example 2: In the tale, the phoenix shines brighter each time it returns.
Example 3: The children drew a phoenix on the cover of their storybook, its tail feathers red and orange.
Fun Fact
The city of Phoenix in Arizona, USA, was named after this bird in the 1860s because it grew up on the site of much older farming canals, like something new rising from the old.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. phoenix 2. unicorne 3. mermade 4. centuar
a) a horse-like creature with one horn
b) a legendary bird linked with fire and renewal
c) a creature that is half man and half horse
d) a sea creature with a woman's head and a fish's tail
Show answer
b) a legendary bird linked with fire and renewal. Mermaid, unicorn and centaur have all slipped here; phoenix alone is right.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
The story tells of a nioxhep that flew up from a heap of ashes, as bright and strong as ever.
a) pelican
b) pheasant
c) phoenix
d) penguin
Show answer
c) phoenix. An x among the letters points to one bird only.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
phoennix
a) h
b) e
c) n
d) o
Show answer
c) n. A single n sits before the i.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our class play tells the old tale of a golden foenix that glowed above the village and brought hope to everyone after a long, dry summer.
a) golden
b) village
c) foenix
d) summer
Show answer
c) foenix. The word opens with ph, as phone does.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which kind of book would you most expect to meet a phoenix?
a) a collection of myths and legends
b) a handbook of Indian garden birds
c) a school atlas of world rivers
d) a guide to keeping pet parrots
Show answer
a) a collection of myths and legends
2. A team nicknamed the Phoenix is most likely saying that it ____.
a) trains in the hottest weather
b) bounces back after every defeat
c) flies to all its away games
d) wears bright red and gold kit
Show answer
b) bounces back after every defeat
