gargantuan

adjective

gar·​gan·​tuan gär-ˈgan(t)-sh(ə-)wən 

variants often Gargantuan

: tremendous in size, volume, or degree : gigantic, colossal

gargantuan waterfalls

Did you know?

Gargantua is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua, the second part of a five-volume series about the giant and his son Pantagruel. All of the details of Gargantua's life befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose tail switches so violently that it fells the entire forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite, such that in one incident he inadvertently swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The scale of everything connected with Gargantua led to the adjective gargantuan, which since William Shakespeare's time has been used for anything of tremendous size or volume.

Synonyms of gargantuan

• gigantic
• huge
• enormous
• giant
• vast
• massive
• colossal
• tremendous
• mammoth
• immense
• monumental
• astronomical
• monstrous
• titanic

Examples of gargantuan in a Sentence

a creature of gargantuan proportions

people seem to be buying ever more gargantuan SUVs these days

Recent Examples on the Web

The gargantuan mill is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and makes 1,167 hp and 1,100 ft lbs of torque. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2026

Halting these development efforts now would take the kind of gargantuan global effort that Kirchwey and others called for in 1945. — Richard Kreitner, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2026

Given the chance to go big with his take on insidious zealotry, the Harold & Kumar star is both charming and gargantuan. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

That projection is gargantuan, equivalent to the output from mammoth American economic engines, such as transportation, restaurants and hotels. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Gargantua

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

gargantuan

adjective

gar·​gan·​tuan gär-ˈganch-wən 

-ə-wən

: extraordinary in size, degree, or volume : gigantic

Etymology

from Gargantua, a giant with an enormous appetite in books by the French author François Rabelais