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

A colossus in shipbuilding, China is undertaking one of the largest peacetime naval buildups in modern history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

Plus, China’s emergence as a shipbuilding and ocean-trade colossus has fueled its growth in naval power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

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

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

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

His face so dusted white he looks like a colossus made of powder.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

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

Now, at least a half-dozen factories in Tunisia produce cans of tuna ranging in size from hockey pucks to 11-pound colossi.

From New York Times ● Jul. 3, 2023

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

There were no remains whatever of the superstructure which once rose above the colossi, guarding this magnificent entrance.

From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by T. L. (Thomas Louis) Haines

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

What is to resist the combined power of these two colossuses unless the united weight and the united bulk of Germany hinders their embrace?

From Louisa of Prussia and Her Times by L. (Luise) Mühlbach

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