behemoth
Americannoun
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an animal, perhaps the hippopotamus, mentioned in the Bible.
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any creature or thing of monstrous size or power.
The army's new tank is a behemoth.
The cartel is a behemoth that small business owners fear.
noun
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Old Testament a gigantic beast, probably a hippopotamus, described in Job 40:15
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a huge or monstrous person or thing
Usage
What is a behemoth? A behemoth is a thing or creature of enormous size or power, as in An elephant is a behemoth that even lions and rhinos are afraid of.The word Behemoth also refers to a monstrous creature from the Bible. In Job 40:15, an unknown large animal is referred to as a behemoth and is said to have immense power and eat grass. It is commonly thought that the animal being described is actually a hippopotamus.Example: The powerful company is a behemoth in the electronics industry, dominating the market.
Pop Culture
— Behemoth: Thomas Hobbes's 1681 book on the English Civil Wars, from the Scottish revolution in 1637 to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. —Behemoth: A character in The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Behemoth is a walking, talking, gun-toting black cat, and a demon in disguise. —Behemoth: A Polish rock band, playing what's known as blackened death metal, a mix of black metal and thrash metal music. —The Behemoth: A video game development company, creators of the popular video games Alien Hominid (2004) and Castle Crashers (2008). — Behemoth: The second book in Scott Westerfield’s steampunk young adult series, published in 2010.
Etymology
Origin of behemoth
1350–1400; from Hebrew bəhēmōth, an augmentative plural of bəhēmāh beast; replacing Middle English bemoth
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.
Resources groups that have not fared so well in 2025 -- iron ore behemoth Rio Tinto and Anglo American -- are ramping up production of copper to help offset sagging demand for steel and diamonds.
From Barron's
During the short trip, he counted 25 motels with brands such as Red Roof Inn and Motel 6 and decided China was ready for a budget lodging behemoth.
Walmart's newly installed leadership team on Thursday emphasized plans to build up artificial intelligence integration, lifting shares of the retail behemoth despite a cautious forecast.
From Barron's
Shares of Walmart rallied Thursday after the company indicated that the downbeat profit outlook it had provided was basically a way for the retail behemoth to underpromise so it could overdeliver.
From MarketWatch
Shares of Walmart took a hit in early Thursday trading, after the retail behemoth beat fiscal fourth-quarter profit expectations, but provided a disappointing outlook for the current quarter and the full year.
From MarketWatch
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.
