phoebe

Everyday

1. (a name) Phoebe is a girl's name, from an old Greek word meaning bright or shining. tree →
2. A phoebe is a small grey-brown bird of North America that catches flies in the air and wags its tail. tree →
3. (space) Phoebe is one of the moons of Saturn, a dark, small moon that goes round the planet backwards. tree →
4. (myths) In Greek myths Phoebe was a Titan, a goddess linked with the Moon and light. tree →

In the lessons

In stories Phoebe is most often just a character's first name, so it tells you who is speaking or acting. In nature lessons about North American birds the phoebe is a common backyard bird named after its call, which sounds like "fee-bee". In space lessons Phoebe appears in lists of Saturn's many moons.

Examples

• Phoebe sat next to me in maths today. tree →
• My best friend Phoebe has a dog called Biscuit. tree →
• A phoebe built its nest under our porch roof. tree →
• The phoebe called "fee-bee, fee-bee" from the fence. tree →
• Phoebe is one of more than a hundred moons of Saturn. tree →
• Phoebe orbits Saturn in the opposite direction to most of its moons. tree →
• In the Greek myth, Phoebe was the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis. tree →
• LETO (Latona) was the daughter of Coeus and Phoebe. tree →

Note

Say it "FEE-bee": the final e is spoken, like in "Chloe". As a name it takes a capital letter; the bird (a phoebe, two phoebes) does not. Do not invent facts about a person called Phoebe — it is just a name. Not the same as "Phobos", a moon of Mars.