gigantism
Americannoun
-
Pathology. abnormally great development in size or stature of the whole body or of parts of the body, most often due to dysfunction of the pituitary gland.
-
Biology. the nonpathological development of an animal or plant to an unusually large size.
noun
-
Also called: giantism. excessive growth of the entire body, caused by over-production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland during childhood or adolescence Compare acromegaly
-
the state or quality of being gigantic
Etymology
Origin of gigantism
First recorded in 1880–85; from Latin gigant-, stem of gigās; see origin at giant, -ism
Compare meaning
How does gigantism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Worse, the exercise won’t get to the real issue: Gigantism across the economy.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 5, 2019
Gigantism, dwarfism, and Cope’s rule: “nothing in evolution makes sense without a phylogeny”.
From Scientific American • Mar. 5, 2014
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.
