giant

[ jahy-uhnt ]

noun

1. (in folklore) a being with human form but superhuman size, strength, etc.
2. a person or thing of unusually great size, power, importance, etc.; major figure; legend:

   a giant in her field; an intellectual giant.

3. (often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. any of the Gigantes.
4. Mining. monitor ( def 12 ).
5. Astronomy. giant star.

adjective

1. unusually large, great, or strong; gigantic; huge.
2. greater or more eminent than others.

giant

/ ˈdʒaɪənt /

noun

1. a mythical figure of superhuman size and strength, esp in folklore or fairy tales Also (feminine)giantessˈdʒaɪəntɪs
2. a person or thing of exceptional size, reputation, etc

   a giant in nuclear physics

3. Greek myth any of the large and powerful offspring of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth) who rebelled against the Olympian gods but were defeated in battle
4. pathol a person suffering from gigantism
5. astronomy See giant star
6. mining another word for monitor

adjective

1. remarkably or supernaturally large
2. architect another word for colossal

Derived Forms

• ˈgiant-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• giant·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of giant¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English geant, from Old French, from Latin gigant-, stem of gigās, from Greek Gígās; replacing Old English gigant, from Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of giant¹

C13: from Old French geant, from Vulgar Latin gagās (unattested), from Latin gigās, gigant-, from Greek

Example Sentences

A giant dust plume shrouded them in amber.

From New York Times

"I've been fascinated by giant animals ever since I was a kid. I'd spend hours reading books, watching movies, and imagining what it would be like if dinosaurs were still around today," said Lin.

From Science Daily

"The question for the government is: do they want these sectors to be owned by giant multinationals?"

From BBC

Under the terms of a deal spelled out in a 90-page draft agreement, data collected about TikTok users in the U.S. was to be handled by U.S. tech giant Oracle.

From Los Angeles Times

Google and federal officials are battling it out over a proposal that the tech giant be forced to sell its popular Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• behemoth
• titan