Heros or Heroes | Definition, Correct Spelling & Use
Whether you should use heros or heroes depends on what you’re talking about.
- Heroes is the plural form of the noun “hero,” meaning “a courageous or admirable person.” Heroes can also be the protagonists in books, films, plays, myths, etc.
- Heros is the plural form for a less common definition of “hero,” a type of sandwich from the United States also known as a “sub.”
- Heros—always with a capital “H” and an “s” on the end—is also a genus of fish native to South America (e.g., Heros notatus), or a proper name (e.g., Heros of Arles).
Heroes, heros, and Heros are homophones: they sound the same, but have different meanings.
| Heros in a sentence | Heroes in a sentence |
|---|---|
| I’m going to order a variety of heros for the lunch meeting. | The teacher asked the students to give presentations about their heroes. |
| In our experiment we are going to evaluate Heros efasciatus. | The main heroes of The Lord of the Rings are Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn. |
Plural of hero
Whether you use heros or heroes as the plural of hero depends on which meaning you want to convey.
| Meaning | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Admirable person | The firefighter who saved our kitten is a true hero. | Hercules is one of the most famous heroes from mythology. |
| Sandwich | I ate a hero yesterday for lunch. | I ate a lot of heros during my last trip to New York City. |
| Fish | This Heros comes from the Amazon river basin. | These Heros are commonly found in aquariums. |
Note that the fish “Heros” is the same in the singular and plural forms. This is because taxonomic names can be used in both singular and plural, though the singular is usually preferred.
Sometimes, both “-es” and “-s” are correct for the same meaning, like with “volcanos” and “volcanoes.”
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help you easily correct any misspelled plurals.
Hero’s or heroes
Hero’s is the possessive form of “hero” or the contraction of “hero is.” These forms can be used for both meanings of hero.
Hero’s is not a replacement for the plural forms heroes or heros.
- The hero’s dog plays an integral part in his story.
- Right now, the hero’s setting off on a long voyage.
- The hero’s will do everything they can to defeat the villain.
- I don’t like this hero’s sauce; I prefer oil and vinegar.
- This hero’s delicious!
- We ordered 10 hero’s for the party later.
Frequently asked questions about heros or heroes
- How do you spell heroes?
-
Heroes is correctly spelled when it refers to various brave or commendable people. This plural comes from the singular “hero.”
But “hero” can also mean a type of sandwich. In that case, you spell the plural “heros,” without the “e.”
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using heros or heroes correctly.
- How do you spell hero?
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“Hero” is spelled the same in the singular form whether you’re referring to a brave champion or a large sandwich. But, in the plural, the people are “heroes” and the sandwiches are “heros.”
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using heros or heroes correctly in your writing.
- What are some other words for hero?
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When “hero” means “an admirable person,” some other words are:
- Champion
- Paladin
- Knight
- Warrior
- Conqueror
- Idol
- Luminary
- Protector
- Savior
- Paragon
If talking about a “hero” in the context of a book, film, play, etc., some synonyms are:
- Protagonist
- Lead
- Lead character
- Main character
A less common meaning of “hero” is “sandwich.” In this case, some synonyms are:
- Submarine
- Sub
- Hoagie
- Grinder
- Torpedo
QuillBot’s Paraphraser can help you use synonyms for words like hero, heros, or heroes.
