adjective
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very large; enormous
a gigantic error
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Also: gigantesque. of or suitable for giants
Usage
What does gigantic mean? Gigantic means extraordinarily large or huge. Some things are more than huge—they’re gigantic. The word is most often applied to physical objects whose size makes you marvel with awe. Blue whales are gigantic. Skyscrapers are gigantic. The Grand Canyon is gigantic. But it can also be applied to intangible things, as in With all the champagne and caviar that we ordered, the bill for dinner is going to be gigantic. Similar adjectives are gargantuan, giant, colossal, and mammoth. A more formal synonym is massive. A more informal synonym is humongous. An even more informal synonym is ginormous (a blend of giant or gigantic and enormous). A much less common variant of gigantic is gigantean. Like any adjective used to describe something’s size, gigantic is often used in a way that’s relative to the situation. Many things described as gigantic are objectively huge, like redwood trees or the planet Jupiter. But something might be considered gigantic only in comparison to other similar things. For example, an unusually large grapefruit might be described as gigantic even though it’s not all that big in general—it’s simply gigantic compared to normal-sized grapefruits. Gigantic is sometimes casually used to mean extremely important or significant—much like the figurative use of big and huge, as in This is a gigantic win for the franchise. Sometimes, this is negative, as in gigantic error, gigantic failure, or gigantic misunderstanding. Example: You don’t realize how gigantic the sun is until you see an image of a planet next to it for scale.
Related Words
Gigantic, colossal, mammoth, monstrous are used of whatever is physically or metaphorically of great magnitude. Gigantic refers to the size of a giant, or to size or scope befitting a giant: a gigantic stalk of corn. Colossal refers to the size of a colossus, to anything huge or vast as befitting a hero or god: a colossal victory. Mammoth refers to the size of the animal of that name and is used especially of anything large and heavy: a mammoth battleship. Monstrous means strikingly unusual or out of the normal in some way, as in size: a monstrous blunder.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gigantic
Explanation
Gigantic is an adjective used to describe something that's really big, as though it were made for a giant. You might call a skyscraper a gigantic building, especially if it towers over other buildings nearby. As you might imagine, gigantic is derived from the noun giant. Giants were mythical beings that were said to be of immense size and strength. Literally, gigantic means “of or relating to a giant,” but in practice gigantic is widely used to describe almost anything as especially big. If an article of clothing is way too big for you, you could call it gigantic. You might also complain of having a gigantic headache because someone is being a gigantic pain.
Vocabulary lists containing gigantic
List 2
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Living Large: Synonyms for "Big"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
Although invisible, dark matter is believed to shape a gigantic web-like framework made of long filaments.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
Celtic taking the title from Hearts at this stage would be a gigantic anti-climax for those dreaming of one of the greatest stories in the history of Scottish football.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
Since it doesn’t speak, the Familiar doesn’t have to run a gigantic large language model.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Before Standard Oil became “the most gigantic, the most cruel, impudent, pitiless, and grasping monopoly which ever fastened upon a community,” it was a start-up.
From Barron's • May 2, 2026
We’re in one gigantic spider’s lair, and we’ve fallen into its web like insects.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
