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

Inflected Forms

noun

• colossuses
  plural
• colossi
  plural

Etymology

Origin of colossus

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

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

Don’s suit is indented with billowing wrinkles, perhaps to suggest the idea of movement, as if the colossus is soaring through the air.

From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026

Legendary Jazz musician Sonny Rollins, who was known as the "saxophone colossus", has died aged 95.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

Weak domestic demand and huge government production incentives have created an industrial colossus that exports an estimated $2 trillion more manufactured goods than it imports.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Cook, who built Apple into a colossus with influence coursing through geopolitics, pop culture and the daily lives of billions of people, said he would step down as chief executive on Sept. 1.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

But Diderot’s name for this newly born colossus is not ‘Science’, as we might expect.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton