giant

American  

[jahy-uhnt] / ˈdʒaɪ ənt /

noun

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

2. a person or thing of unusually great size, power, importance, etc.; major figure; legend.

   a giant in her field; an intellectual giant.

3. (often initial capital letter) any of the Gigantes.

4. Mining. monitor.

5. Astronomy. giant star.

---

adjective

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

2. greater or more eminent than others.

giant British  

/ ˈdʒaɪənt /

noun

1. Also (feminine): giantess.  a mythical figure of superhuman size and strength, esp in folklore or fairy tales

2. a person or thing of exceptional size, reputation, etc

   a giant in nuclear physics

3. 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

4. pathol a person suffering from gigantism

5. astronomy See giant star

6. mining another word for monitor

---

adjective

1. remarkably or supernaturally large

2. architect another word for colossal

Other Word Forms

• giant-like adjective
• giantlike adjective

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

Related Words

• big
• colossal
• enormous
• gargantuan
• gigantic
• huge
• hulking
• humongous
• immense
• jumbo
• mammoth
• monstrous
• vast