giant

[jahy-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR giant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(in folklore) a being with human form but superhuman size, strength, etc.

a person or thing of unusually great size, power, importance, etc.; major figure; legend: a giant in her field; an intellectual giant.

(often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. any of the Gigantes.

Mining. monitor(def 12).

Astronomy. giant star.

adjective

unusually large, great, or strong; gigantic; huge.

greater or more eminent than others.

Origin of giant

1250–1300; Middle English geant < Old French < Latin gigant- (stem of gigās) < Greek Gígās; replacing Old English gigant < Latin, as above

Related formsgi·ant·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for giant

huge, enormous, hulking, colossal, big, monstrous, humongous, immense, mammoth, vast, jumbo, gigantic, gargantuan, titan, behemoth, gross, blimp, mountain, whopper, ogre

Examples from the Web for giant

Contemporary Examples of giant

Yeah, the “Giant man-puppy” that is Gronkowski won't hold a sexual candle to the blue-eyed dreamboat.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
I knew there would be good times and bad, sickness and health, broken dishwashers and giant cockroaches in the bathroom.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder
Carrie Arnold
December 20, 2014
No alarms were triggered as she strolled out of the Giant supermarket in Limerick, Pennsylvania, and nobody thought otherwise.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks
M.L. Nestel
December 19, 2014
The forests were lush and filled with life, from giant snakes to monkeys.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway
Nina Strochlic
December 18, 2014
Lakes on Titan are full of methane, and the chemical is a major component of the giant planets Jupiter, Neptune, and so forth.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?
Matthew R. Francis
December 17, 2014

Historical Examples of giant

What courage was requisite to grapple with this giant difficulty!
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
"We will see about that, one of these days," answered the giant.
The Three Golden Apples
Nathaniel Hawthorne
"I described the giant as he appeared to me," replied the student, rather piqued.
The Three Golden Apples
Nathaniel Hawthorne
She sang of Freya's apples, and of the strength and youth of the giant family.
Opera Stories from Wagner
Florence Akin
A sombre rage possessed them, and gave to their hearts a giant's daring.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic

British Dictionary definitions for giant

giant

noun

a mythical figure of superhuman size and strength, esp in folklore or fairy talesAlso (feminine): giantess (ˈdʒaɪəntɪs)

a person or thing of exceptional size, reputation, etca giant in nuclear physics

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

pathol a person suffering from gigantism

astronomy See giant star

mining another word for monitor (def. 8)

adjective

remarkably or supernaturally large

architect another word for colossal

Derived Formsgiant-like, adjective

Word Origin for giant

C13: from Old French geant, from Vulgar Latin gagās (unattested), from Latin gigās, gigant-, from Greek

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for giant

c.1300, from Old French geant, earlier jaiant (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *gagantem (nominative gagas), from Latin gigas "giant," from Greek gigas (genitive gigantos), one of a race of savage beings, sons of Gaia and Uranus, eventually destroyed by the gods, probably from a pre-Greek language. Replaced Old English ent, eoten, also gigant. The Greek word was used in Septuagint to refer to men of great size and strength, hence the expanded use in modern languages. Of very tall persons from 1550s; of persons who have any quality in extraordinary degree, from 1530s.

In þat tyme wer here non hauntes Of no men bot of geauntes. [Wace's Chronicle, c.1330]