giant
Americannoun
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giants
plural
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(in folklore) a being with human form but superhuman size, strength, etc.
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a person or thing of unusually great size, power, importance, etc.; major figure; legend.
a giant in her field; an intellectual giant.
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(often initial capital letter) any of the Gigantes.
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Mining. monitor.
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Astronomy. giant star.
adjective
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unusually large, great, or strong; gigantic; huge.
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greater or more eminent than others.
noun
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Also (feminine): giantess. a mythical figure of superhuman size and strength, esp in folklore or fairy tales
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a person or thing of exceptional size, reputation, etc
a giant in nuclear physics
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Greek myth any of the large and powerful offspring of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth) who rebelled against the Olympian gods but were defeated in battle
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pathol a person suffering from gigantism
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astronomy See giant star
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mining another word for monitor
adjective
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remarkably or supernaturally large
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architect another word for colossal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of giant
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English geant, from Old French, from Latin gigant-, stem of gigās, from Greek Gígās; replacing Old English gigant, from Latin, as above
Explanation
A giant is someone that's unusually enormous. You can also use the word giant to describe something or someone that is really big. That giant green guy over there? That's the jolly green giant. Ho ho ho. A star basketball player might be described as a giant, or a stunningly tall redwood tree, or even a very large business. These giants come from the giants of mythology, huge creatures that are featured in fairy and folk tales and inspired by the giants of Greek myth, who were a separate race of strong, aggressive gods. The Greek root is Gigas, with the plural form Gigantes.
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.
See Examples For:
Dozens of giant screens lined the more than two-kilometre stretch.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
He played as a kid for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and later for the youth team of the Brussels-based giant Anderlecht.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
"I'm excited to keep uplifting my friends and cheering them on as they reach for the Moon. Together, we'll keep pushing boundaries and inspiring the next giant leap."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Hundreds of thousands of people have greeted Pope Leo XIV in the centre of Paris for a giant open-air Mass.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
She stares straight ahead— past the giant oak tree, past the stone gargoyle, past the ritzy apartments with the doorman.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Taking on tech giants such as Apple, it’s also been expanding its retail footprint by opening stores including a flagship one in West Hollywood in 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Earlier this year it entered into a strategic partnership with radio giants Global, with the aim to create a multi-format sports media network.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Tech giants including Intel and Meta Platforms surged on Monday, as investors piled into bets on chips and AI hyperscalers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Appreciating equity investments among technology giants has also temporarily contributed to S&P 500 earnings, they wrote, which are expected to slow next year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Poland became a pie that had been divvied up to be eaten by giants.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
