chimaera

US: (ki mēr′ə, kī-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

chi•mae•ra  (ki mēr′ə, kī-), n. 

1. Fish any fish of the family Chimaeridae, the male of which has a spiny clasping organ over the mouth.
2. Fish any similar fish of the group Holocephali, which includes this family.
3. chimera.

• see chimera 1795–1805

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chimaera / kaɪˈmɪərə kɪ-/ noun

1. a variant spelling of chimera1

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

chi•me•ra or chi•mae•ra /kɪˈmɪrə, kaɪ-/   n. [countable] , pl. -ras. 

1. Mythology [often: Chimera] a monster of Greek myth, represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
2. an unlikely dream;
   an unrealistic hope.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

chi•me•ra  (ki mēr′ə, kī-), n., pl. -ras. 

1. Mythology (often cap.) a mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
2. any similarly grotesque monster having disparate parts, esp. as depicted in decorative art.
3. a horrible or unreal creature of the imagination;
   a vain or idle fancy:
   He is far different from the chimera your fears have made of him.
4. Genetics an organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, as an organism that is partly male and partly female, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species.

Also, chimaera. 

• Greek chímaira she-goat; akin to Old Norse gymbr, English gimmer ewe-lamb one year (i.e., one winter) old, Latin hiems winter (see hiemal), Greek cheimó̄n winter
• Latin chimaera
• Middle English chimera 1350–1400

Synonyms

• 3. dream, fantasy, delusion.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chimera, chimaera / kaɪˈmɪərə kɪ-/ noun

1. (often capital) a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent
2. a fabulous beast made up of parts taken from various animals
3. a wild and unrealistic dream or notion
4. an organism, esp a cultivated plant, consisting of at least two genetically different kinds of tissue as a result of mutation, grafting, etc

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin chimaera, from Greek khimaira she-goat, from khimaros he-goat