giant

1 of 2

noun

gi·​ant ˈjī-ənt 

plural giants

1

: a legendary humanlike being of great stature and strength

2

a

: a living being of great size

b

: a person of extraordinary powers

3

: something unusually large or powerful

4

astronomy : a star of high luminosity and relatively great mass and size

a red giant

As it exhausts its hydrogen fuel, changes in its interior trigger a transformation from a blue giant to a yellow supergiant in only a few hundred thousand years.

—James B. Kaler

compare dwarf sense 4a, supergiant

giantlike

ˈjī-ənt-ˌlīk 

adjective

giant

2 of 2

adjective

: having extremely large size, proportion, or power

Synonyms

Noun

• whale
• dinosaur
• monster
• mammoth
• elephant

Adjective

• gigantic
• huge
• enormous
• massive
• vast
• colossal
• tremendous
• mammoth
• immense
• monumental
• monster
• bumper
• astronomical

Examples of giant in a Sentence

Noun

the land of the giants

the Great Pyramids of Egypt are giants among the world's architectural wonders

Adjective

a giant-size box of detergent

the giant sycamore tree that dwarfs our house is almost 250 years old

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The creation of a haptic trailer for the F1 movie, making use of vibration functions on iPhones, and the presence of the film in the keynote speech at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this year made clear just how deeply F1 resonated with the tech giant, too. —Luke Smith, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

The oil giant didn’t disclose the other investors at the time as work was still underway to finalize participation. —Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Adjective

The line occurs when the film’s protagonist, Ripley (Weaver), emerges from an elevator in a giant metal bodysuit, ready to fight a terrifying alien to save a young child. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025

That unique tone, captured with zeal by a charismatic ensemble led by Fred Ward, Kevin Bacon, and Reba McEntire, is what makes Ron Underwood's horror-comedy about giant worms terrorizing a remote desert town such a good hang. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English giaunt, from Anglo-French geant, from Latin gigant-, gigas, from Greek

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing giant

• Flemish giant
• gentle giant
• giant anteater
• giant bladder kelp
• giant cactus
• giant clam
• giant cow parsley
• giant cow parsnip
• giant crab spider
• giant hogweed
• giant hornet
• giant kelp
• giant lymph node hyperplasia
• giant panda
• giant reed
• giant schnauzer
• giant sequoia
• giant slalom
• giant squid
• giant star
• giant toad
• giant tortoise
• giant water bug
• northern giant hornet
• red giant
• sleeping giant

Rhymes for giant

• client
• pliant
• scient
• compliant
• defiant
• reliant
• suppliant
• noncompliant
• supergiant

Kids Definition

giant

1 of 2 noun

gi·​ant ˈjī-ənt 

1

: a very large and strong being of legend

2

: a person or thing that is very large or powerful

giant

2 of 2 adjective

: much larger or more powerful than ordinary