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:
The country has done so by tapping the giant oil reserves it built up before the war as well through managing its demand for oil by increasingly embracing electric cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The discovery pushes the story of giant arthropods much further back in time than the period usually associated with enormous insects and other invertebrates.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
These giant computer campuses, which are mostly void of human beings, have become a focal point of the growing revolt against an increasingly predatory tech industry.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Rival technology giant Google made a similar switch for its users in the US in recent days, leading to backlash on social media.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Clouds of ptarmigan rise like giant white snowflakes into a bright sun in front of the dogs —sometimes two, three hundred of them.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Some expect the tech giants to raise $400-$500bn from the bond markets this year.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Investment gains from tech giants Amazon.com and Alphabet added fuel to the big earnings surge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Glazer during his Senate term pushed similar legislation that was ultimately shelved in a deal with tech giants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Pushkin is revered as one of the country’s literary giants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“In fact, you’re going to be doing giants by the time we finish bars today. I’ll spot you.”
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
