Titan

American  

[tahyt-n] / ˈtaɪt n /

noun

1. Classical Mythology.

   1. any of the sons of Uranus and Gaia, including Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus.

   2. Also Titaness any of the sisters of these, including Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Tethys, Themis, and Thia.

   3. any of the offspring of the children of Uranus and Gaia.

2. the Titan, Helios.

3. Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.

4. (usually lowercase) a person or thing of enormous size, strength, power, influence, etc..

   a titan of industry.

5. Military. a two-stage, liquid-fueled U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile in service since the late 1950s and designed for launch from underground silos.

---

adjective

1. (lowercase) titanic.

Titan ¹ British  

/ ˈtaɪtən /

noun

1. any of a family of primordial gods, the sons and daughters of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth)

2. any of the offspring of the children of Uranus and Gaea

---

Titan ² British  

/ ˈtaɪtən /

noun

1. the largest satellite of the planet Saturn, having a thick atmosphere consisting mainly of nitrogen. Diameter: 5150 km

---

titan ³ British  

/ ˈtaɪtən /

noun

1. a person of great strength or size

---

Etymology

Origin of Titan

Late Middle English: “the sun, Helios,” from Latin Tītān, from Greek Tītā́n; Titan defs. 1 and Titan 2 were first recorded in 1400–50; Titan def. 3 was first recorded in 1865–70;

Explanation

A titan is an extremely important person. Albert Einstein was a titan in the world of science. The noun titan comes from Greek mythology, in which the Titans were a race of gods. Today, a titan is someone who is god-like, or powerful and influential in a certain field. Shakespeare was a titan of literature, Wayne Gretzky was a titan of hockey, and The Beatles were titans of music. If you are famous within the world of competitive eating, you might be referred to as a titan of hot dog-eating contests.

Example Sentences

To the world’s grave danger, so does Titan X — a Lovecraftian tentacled behemoth whose emergence triggers Kong into a violent frenzy.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

The new model proposes that Titan formed when two earlier moons combined.

From Science Daily • Feb. 27, 2026

The "Clydebank Titan" is the oldest surviving example worldwide, built in 1907 for the John Brown shipyard, birthplace of great ships like HMS Hood, the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the QE2.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

Submersibles are used in many fields, but many now associate them with the 2023 underwater implosion of the Titan, which killed five people on a trip to explore the Titanic wreck.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

A Titan strode toward them, casually kicking lesser monsters out of his way.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• behemoth