superman

plural supermen · alternative Superman

1. human sciencesAn imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch; (loosely), a man of extraordinary powers.First known use 19th c.

   Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.

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   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.

   1901–1903, John Tanner [pseudonym; George Bernard Shaw], “[The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion] Man’s Objection to His Own Improvement”, in Man and Superman. […], Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1903, →OCLC, page 194

   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.

   1909, Friedrich Nietzsche; Thomas Common, transl., “Zarathustra's Prologue”, in Thus Spake Zarathustra, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, [1940s?], OCLC 11993131, page 6

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

   1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC

   Heroes of myths, Titans, demi-gods, Prometheus, who brought fire from heaven; prophets, messiahs and saints of all religions; heroes of fairy tales and epic songs, knights who rescue captive princesses, awake sleeping beauties, vanquish dragons, and fight giants and ogres—all these are images of a superman.

   1931, P[yotr] D[emianovich] Ouspensky, “Superman”, in R[eginald] R. Merton, transl., A New Model of the Universe, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →OCLC, page 113

   Early in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov has become obsessed with the notion that he himself is a "superman." Therefore, he thinks, he is not subject to the laws that govern ordinary people.

   2016, A Study Guide for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (Novels for Students), Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale; Cengage Learning, →ISBN

2. Someone likened to the comics character Superman; a man of seemingly superhuman powers.First known use 20th c.

   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?

   2016, Patrick J. Reider, “How Batman Cowed a God”, in Nicolas Michaud, editor, Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout? (Popular Culture and Philosophy; 100), Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company, →ISBN

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   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, [...].

   1941 December, Kenneth Brown, “The Newmarket & Chesterford Railway—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 533

   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.

   2010 August, A[lex] E[chevarria] Roman, chapter 25, in The Superman Project: A Chico Santana Mystery, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 218

   Didn’t they tell us we needed illegals to help build more houses to counter the housing shortage in the US? Why don’t they put all these returning construction supermen to work in Mexico?.

   2025 July 8, Brandon Smith, “Do They Deserve It? Mexico Is Collapsing As The US Deports Illegals Back Home”, in Alt-Market.us

plural Supermen

1. countableuncountableA fictional comic-book superhero with superhuman strength and speed, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly.First known use 1933.

   […] 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.

   2000, Lisa Germany, Harwell Hamilton Harris, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page vii

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   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.

   2002, Autocar, page viii

   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[…]

   2010, Michael Sullivan, The Alliance, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 149

   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.

   2025 February 21, Leah Dolan, “How the Superman ‘S’ became fashion’s favorite logo”, in CNN

   Synonyms: Man of Steel, Supes

plural Supermen · plural Supermans

1. countableuncountableAlternative letter-case form of superman: a man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
2. countableuncountableplural SupermanshobbiesA 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.

   2003, Dalton Cooper, “The First Time I Got My Dirt Bike”, in TWIGS in the Mitten, New York, N.Y.: School Success Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, pages 69–70

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   [page 77] Riders should adapt their own style when doing Supermans, and shouldn't get hung up trying to do it the same way that someone else does. […] [page 79] An extension of the Superman is a trick called the Superman Seat Grab. Even more impressive than the Superman itself, this trick was again brought over from the BMX world, […] During the Superman Seat Grab, […] the rider lets go of the left side of the bars and grabs either a cutout in the rear number plate or a grab handle that has been previously installed. With his body moved toward the back of the bike, the rider is able to extend the bike way out in front of himself, almost floating behind the machine. […] Whichever way they are done, the Superman and its variations are some of the most impressive and difficult tricks out there.

   2000, Garth Milan, edited by Sara Perfetti, Freestyle Motocross: Jump Tricks from the Pros, Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing Company, →ISBN, pages 77 and 79

   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!’

   2008, Andrew Fusek Peters, “The Bowl and the Bully”, in Diamonds are for Evil (Skateboard Detectives), London: Orchard Books, →ISBN

   A trick first popularized by Jeremy McGrath, the Superman gave the impression of a rider in full flight, not so much riding his bike as trailing it through the sky. McGrath had done the Superman at the end of races and in exhibitions, and it always killed. But he'd never done a Superman like this. No one had ever done it like this. The goal when executing a Superman was simply to go horizontal, at 180 degrees, while barely touching the bike. But this kid had gone way beyond horizontal. Rather than just kicking his feet out behind him, he'd lifted his legs high in the air, his boots hanging back over his body, two feet above his torso, like a scorpion getting ready to strike.

   2013, Larry Linkogle, Joe Layden, Mind of the Demon: A Memoir of Motocross, Madness, and the Metal Mulisha, Philadelphia, Pa.: Running Press, →ISBN

3. countableuncountableplural SupermansAn exercise in which one lies prone and lifts one's arms and legs, with only the abdomen touching the ground.
4. uncountableA flavor of ice cream that is a mixture of blue moon ice cream, and other ice cream flavors that are colored red and yellow.