superman

noun

1. An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch, an overman.

   “Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.”

   “Man does desire an ideal Superman with such energy as he can spare from his nutrition, and has in every age magnified the best living substitute for it he can find. His least incompetent general is set up as an Alexander; his King is the first gentleman in the world; his Pope is a saint. He is never without an array of human idols who are all nothing but sham Supermen.”

   “And Zarathustra spake thus unto the people: / I teach you the Superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have ye done to surpass man? / … What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame.”

   “"Well, what is it that he does that I don't do? Just say the word, - teetotal, vegetarian, aeronaut, theosophist, superman."”

2. A man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.

   “By the latter part of 1848, the throne of Hudson the Railway King who had been called in in 1845 as a superman to save the Eastern Counties Railway, was tottering to its fall, [...].”

   “I had a vision of what the ideal man should be. I wanted someone whose income combined with mine could afford us a family, an apartment, a car, and all the travel, luxury, and fun we could possibly tolerate. I wanted a Superman.”

   “What type of human weakness might a being of unfathomable power—a superman—inadvertently expose to the keen analytic mind of an avenging dark knight? Would he discover that a superhuman being who cannot be overcome, who is loved and adored by most, and who awes the commoner, desires to be overcome?”

3. (alt-of, countable, uncountable)Alternative letter-case form of superman: a man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
4. (countable, uncountable)A stunt in which the rider releases both hands from the handlebars in mid-air.

   “I'm still trying to do the tricks Nicknack, Superman, and Bar hop. […] Superman is where you grab the handlebars and let your feet and body free.”

   “On the first vert, he reared up the side and let the bike take him out. Midair, he made the 180 turn and slipped back in. This time, as he hit the other side, his whole body slipped off the bike, until only his hands held onto the handlebars. The skaters deliberately turned away as the bikers chanted, ‘Superman! Superman! Superman!’”

5. (countable, uncountable)An exercise in which one lies prone and lifts one's arms and legs, with only the abdomen touching the ground.
6. (uncountable)A flavor of ice cream that is a mixture of blue moon ice cream, and other ice cream flavors that are colored red and yellow.

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A fictional comic-book superhero with superhuman strength and speed, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly.

   “[…] hoping against hope that she, with something like Superman's X-ray vision, might see through the photograph and behind it to the truth about Harris's architecture.”

   “But here's the big question: can this rip-snorting derivative lay 210 bhp down through its front wheels without forcing you to maintain Superman levels of grip on the steering wheel? Yes.”

   “In fact, everyone was used to her Superman-like strength. She made her way through the circuit of machines Mr. Connors had marked for them and ended up at the squat station. As she was placing the weight on the bar, she noticed[…]”

   “And although we’ve certainly seen a variety of blue shades — from periwinkle to cobalt and even Dean Cain’s indigo-washed costume from the 1990’s TV show “Lois & Clark” — Superman’s uniform is still instantly recognizable across generations. In fact, there is only one film — Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” — in which Superman does not wear his iconic red belted trunks.”