colossal
Americanadjective
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extraordinarily great in size, extent, or degree; gigantic; huge.
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of or resembling a colossus.
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(initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a classical order whose columns or pilasters span two or more stories of a building.
adjective
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of immense size; huge; gigantic
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(in figure sculpture) approximately twice life-size Compare heroic
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Also: giant. architect of or relating to the order of columns and pilasters that extend more than one storey in a façade
Usage
What does colossal mean? Colossal describes something as being very large in size, degree, or amount, as in I went to a colossal shopping mall that stretched for a mile. If something is colossal, it is enormous, gigantic, or massive.Colossal can also be used to describe a large degree of something, that is, a large amount or a large extent, like a colossal amount of boxes or a colossal advantage in the playoffs.Less commonly, colossal describes something as resembling a colossus, which is a very large statue, as in The large man was so colossal that he blocked the entire doorway.Example: Tyrannosaurus rex was a colossal dinosaur that towered over many of the smaller animals.
Related Words
See gigantic.
Other Word Forms
- colossality noun
- colossally adverb
- supercolossal adjective
- supercolossally adverb
Etymology
Origin of colossal
First recorded in 1705–15; coloss(us) + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The accumulation of colossal quantities of fuel and ammunition required?
The pitch remained flat but the weight of a colossal target was too great.
From BBC
Under our feet, massive anomalies distort our planet’s magnetic field: Manhattan-size rocks, colossal buried meteorites, chunks of crust that solidified when the poles were flipped.
The colossal Swede ended his career with a quota of quick-witted quips to match his bulging trophy cabinet - 12 league titles with five clubs, a Europa League at Manchester United and individual recognition in LA.
From BBC
The group said earlier this month it would incur colossal charges to finance a shift back to combustion engines and away from producing EVs after sales fell well below expectations.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
