behemoth

noun, often attributive be·he·moth \ bi-ˈhē-məth , ˈbē-ə-məth , -ˌmäth , -ˌmȯth \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: behemoth in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of behemoth

1 often capitalized, religion : a mighty animal described in Job 40:15–24 as an example of the power of God

2 : something of monstrous size, power, or appearance

a behemoth truck

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Examples of behemoth in a Sentence

the newest SUV is a gas-guzzling behemoth that doesn't even fit in a standard parking space

Recent Examples of behemoth from the Web

The e-commerce behemoth last week reported a quarterly profit of $1.6 billion and has been targeted by local social-justice activists, who argue a company led by the world's richest person can afford to do more to help people living without shelter.

— the seattle times, OregonLive.com, "Amazon shelves Seattle expansion plans over proposed tax hike," 3 May 2018
One of the lobbying behemoths of Washington, the association represents hundreds of oil-and-gas companies, including major ones like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. , and many smaller independent producers.

— timothy puko, WSJ, "Oil-and-Gas Lobby Reaches Outside of Energy for New Leader," 2 May 2018
And the behemoths took note, incorporating more inclusive messaging into their strategies.

— andrea alonso, Los Angeles Magazine, "This L.A. Lingerie Designer Is Sick of Diversity for Show," 19 Apr. 2018
Nestled in the Rocky Mountains inside a facility for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the photon-generating behemoth spans an entire building.

— sophia chen, WIRED, "Quantum Mechanics Could Solve Cryptography’s Random Number Problem," 11 Apr. 2018
And, of course, the behemoth that is Fox News, which includes a website that garners 90 million unique visitors each month, according to comScore.

— paul bond, The Hollywood Reporter, "Former Fox News Execs to Launch Digital Outlet: "We're Not Breitbart Lite"," 24 May 2018
Both intergalactic behemoths belong to Disney, which now owns nine of the top 10 opening weekends ever — six of them Marvel releases.

— NBC News, "'Infinity War' sets record with biggest opening weekend ever," 29 Apr. 2018
But both intergalactic behemoths belong to Disney, which now owns nine of the top 10 opening weekends ever -- six belonging to Marvel releases.

— CBS News, ""Avengers: Infinity Wars" opens with record $250M, passing "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"," 29 Apr. 2018
But both intergalactic behemoths belong to Disney, which now owns nine of the top 10 opening weekends ever — six belonging to Marvel releases.

— Time, "Avengers: Infinity War Tops Star Wars For Biggest Box Office Opening Ever," 29 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'behemoth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The original behemoth was biblical; it designated a mysterious river-dwelling beast in the Book of Job. Based on that description, scholars have concluded that the biblical behemoth was probably inspired by a hippopotamus, but details about the creature's exact nature were vague. The word first passed from the Hebrew into Late Latin, where, according to English poet and monk John Lydgate, writing in 1430, it "playne expresse[d] a beast rude full of cursednesse." In English, behemoth was eventually applied more generally to anything large and powerful.