colossus

American  

[kuh-los-uhs] / kəˈlɒs əs /

noun

plural

colossi, colossuses

1. (initial capital letter) the legendary bronze statue of Helios at Rhodes.

2. any statue of gigantic size.

3. anything colossal, gigantic, or very powerful.

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colossus British  

/ kəˈlɒsəs /

noun

1. something very large, esp a statue

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Etymology

Origin of colossus

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek kolossós statue, image, presumably < a pre-Hellenic Mediterranean language

Example Sentences

After spending two decades molding Disney into a media colossus, Iger segued into a senior advisory role, which will run through December when he officially retires.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

In September, Netflix, the streaming colossus behind fare like Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and a sinking civilization’s “Poop Cruise,” will present a boxing rematch between 49-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. and 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

Instead, it points to a quieter colossus: households.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

For most of his life, Michelangelo’s 16th-century biographer Ascanio Condivi tells us, the artist aspired to carve a colossus out of a coastal mountain, a figure visible from ships at sea.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025

Meir Katz, a colossus, wore a child’s pants, and Stern, a skinny little fellow, was floundering in a huge jacket.

From "Night" by Elie Wiesel