gigantic

adjective

gi·​gan·​tic jī-ˈgan-tik How to pronounce gigantic (audio)
jə-
: exceeding the usual or expected (as in size, force, or prominence)
gigantically adverb
Choose the Right Synonym for gigantic

enormous, immense, huge, vast, gigantic, colossal, mammoth mean exceedingly large.

enormous and immense both suggest an exceeding of all ordinary bounds in size or amount or degree, but enormous often adds an implication of abnormality or monstrousness.

an enormous expense
an immense shopping mall

huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

vast usually suggests immensity of extent.

the vast Russian steppes

gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

Example Sentences

a raccoon got into the trash and now there's a gigantic mess in our backyard
Recent Examples on the Web Your tool shed or storage shed shouldn’t become one gigantic junk drawer. Arricca Elin Sansone, housebeautiful.com, 1 June 2023 The Fed makes two wrong turns By the summer of 2022, Hanke viewed the monetary eruption as so gigantic that inflation would remain elevated for a long time. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 May 2023 But this economic prosperity does not reach the more than 420,000 workers who make this gigantic agricultural production possible. Alejandro Maciel, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2023 The car's paint color appears to be an unspecified shade of green, and the gigantic wheels are coated in what looks like some type of bronze. Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 15 May 2023 But the team led by Wiseman speculates that a gigantic cloud of gas, mostly hydrogen, or dust had been orbiting a black hole and veered off course into it. Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 12 May 2023 Lithium evaporation ponds resembled gigantic green-and-blue eye shadow palettes — jade and aquamarine and cyan bordered with white banks of salt byproduct that rose in plumes with the wind. Maggie Shipstead Anthony Cotsifas, New York Times, 10 May 2023 They’re all trained on gigantic datasets and are capable of understanding complex sentences and concepts and generating human-like text. Harry Guinness, Popular Science, 10 May 2023 There are four rooms on the main level, while the entire second floor is dedicated to the gigantic primary suite. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 8 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gigantic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Greek gigantikos, from gigant-, gigas giant

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gigantic was in 1630

Dictionary Entries Near gigantic

Cite this Entry

“Gigantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gigantic. Accessed 6 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

gigantic

adjective
gi·​gan·​tic jī-ˈgant-ik How to pronounce gigantic (audio)
: being beyond the ordinary or expected (as in size, weight, or strength)

More from Merriam-Webster on gigantic

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