colossus

American  

[kuh-los-uhs] / kəˈlɒs əs /

noun

• colossi,
  plural
• colossuses
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• colossi
  plural
• colossuses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of colossus

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

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Explanation

The original colossus was an enormous statue that was supposed to have guarded the ancient Greek island and city of Rhodes. Now, though, we use the noun colossus for someone of huge importance, reputation, or influence. In the world of American music, Louis Armstrong is a colossus. He invented or perfected many of the elements of what we now call jazz — there's probably no figure of greater importance in that field. Even the second most important athlete in the world seems small in comparison to the colossus that is Muhammad Ali. He is, quite simply, the greatest. In the ancient world, Rome was an imperial colossus. Few nations could rival its strength, size, or colossal growth.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colossus colossi colossuses

Gen. Rob Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general who initially fought the formation of a new Hollywood colossus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

As they submitted their American passports and entered the communist colossus, they appeared to be musicians, as indeed they were.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Spanish football commentator Alvaro Romeo says three years ago Araujo was "a colossus" during Barca's title-winning run.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Only then do we see this dark colossus for the slight creature he always was.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

Irwin was a colossus, in form and personality.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

While those football colossi dreamed of taking over the U.S. market, American sports owners took over the powerhouses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

His analysis focused on Shadow of the Colossus, which features a wanderer who travels on horseback to defeat giant beasts known as colossi.

From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2021

The newly unearthed city is located between the temple of King Rameses III and the colossi of Amenhotep III on the west bank of the Nile River in Luxor.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 9, 2021

These glitz-free, idiomatic churches of sweat and sparring - where age-old ring knowledge nurtured colossi such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta and Riddick Bowe - were already on shaky legs prior to lockdown.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2020

He also found, in the course of the excavations, scores of strange figures and colossi, and numerous other remains of a long lost civilization.

From The Christian View of the Old Testament by Frederick Carl Eiselen

We had been impressed with brief stays in Rochester and Buffalo, two one-time commercial colossuses.

From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2020

Investors are betting, in part, that the Covid-19 crisis accelerates the already growing power of America’s corporate colossuses.

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2020

Alisson and Van Dijk are two colossuses – big, confident people.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 14, 2020

But what makes the “Transformers” movies different from other blockbuster colossuses is Bay.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 20, 2017

The guards of the Legion galloped about at random; the people climbed upon the houses, the terraces, the shoulders of the colossuses, and the masts of the ships.

From Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert

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