Goliath

1 of 3

noun (1)

Go·​li·​ath gə-ˈlī-əth 

1

: a Philistine champion who in I Samuel 17 is killed by David

2

: giant

goliath crane

2 of 3

noun (2)

variants or less commonly goliath

plural -s

: a powerful traveling crane mounted on a movable gantry of large span

goliath heron

3 of 3

noun (3)

variants or less commonly goliath

: a very large chiefly African heron (Ardea goliath) having the head, neck, and underparts brown and the back slaty gray

Synonyms of Goliath

Noun (1)

• whale
• giant
• monster
• dinosaur
• mammoth

Examples of Goliath in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the family-owned company lost the contract to a multibillion-dollar Goliath

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

What Taiwan faces is nothing less than a global juggernaut, a Goliath that outguns, outmans, outfleets it. —Michelle Kuo, The Dial, 14 Apr. 2026

Conceived in 2015, Goliath’s Elegy comprises performance and video, and addresses femicide killings of trans and gay people in South Africa as well as the Herero and Nama massacre conducted by German colonial forces in the 1900s in what is now Namibia. —News Desk, Artforum, 25 Mar. 2026

Tiny Goliath Trounces an Even Tinier David<\/h2>

While the iPad will continue to help the average user get by with paying the bills or writing their next breakout sci-fi novel, while maybe even tweaking some family photos, the MacBook Neo’s superior processor does it all better. —PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026

Goliath recently had a world premiere at SeriesFest in Denver and today will see its third episode debut at the DC Environmental Film Festival. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Hebrew Golyath

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Goliath

• Goliath grouper