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• In the academic fields of mythology, mythography, and folkloristics a myth is a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to have their present form. The active beings in myths are generally gods and heroes. Myths take place before time, before history begins. In saying that a myth is a sacred narrative, what is meant is that a myth is believed to be true by people who attach religious or spiritual significance to it. Use of the term by scholars does not imply that the narrative is either true or false. See also legend and tale.

• In popular use, a myth is something that is false. This usage, which is often pejorative, arose from labeling the religious stories and beliefs of other cultures as being incorrect, but it has spread to cover non-religious beliefs as well. Because of this usage, many people take offense when the religious narratives they believe to be true are called myths (see Religion and mythology for more information). This usage is frequently confused with fiction, legend, fairy tale, folklore, fable, and urban legend, each of which has a distinct meaning in academia.

• Mythos is a term used for a collection of myths (in the scholarly sense). Some authors of fiction influenced by mythology have used the term to cover a collection of similar background elements in their writing. See, for example, Cthulhu Mythos.

• Something that is mythic is thought to contain story elements similar to mythology. Something mythical is, however, typically considered false.

• Urban myth is an alternate (not academic) term for urban legend.

• Myth (computer game) is a series of real-time tactical computer games.

• The Myth is a 2005 Chinese film starring Jackie Chan.

• The Myth of Er is an analogy used in Plato's Republic.

• The Myth of Hitler's Pope is a book by Rabbi David G. Dalin defending the reputation of the late Pope Pius XII.

• The Myth of Islamic Tolerance is a controversial collection of essays edited by writer Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch.

• The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory is a 2000 book by Cynthia Eller, a professor at Montclair State University.

• The Myth of Mental Illness is a controversial anti-psychiatry book by Thomas Szasz.

• Myths of the Near Future is a short-story collection by J. G. Ballard.

• The Myth of the Nines is the idea in information technology that standard measurements of availability can be misleading.

• The Myth of Prometheus (Piero di Cosimo) is an oil painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo.

• The Myth of redemptive violence is a term coined by Walter Wink for an archetypal plot in literature, especially in imperial cultures.

• The Myth of Sisyphus is an essay by Albert Camus.

• The Myth of the Twentieth Century is a book by Alfred Rosenberg, one of the principal ideologists of the Nazi party.