Definitions
1.nounA traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people, etc.
2.nounSuch stories as a genre."Myth was the product of man's emotion and imagination, acted upon by his surroundings. (E. Clodd, Myths & Dreams (1885), 7, cited after OED)"
3.nounA commonly-held but false belief, a common misconception; a fictitious or imaginary person or thing; a popular conception about a real person or event which exaggerates or idealizes reality."Scientists debunk the myth that gum stays in the human stomach for seven years."
4.nounA person or thing held in excessive or quasi-religious awe or admiration based on popular legend"Father Flanagan was legendary, his institution an American myth. (Tucson (Arizona) Citizen, 20 September 1979, 5A/3, cited after OED)"
5.nounA person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.