kaiju

noun

kai·​ju ˈkī-(ˌ)jü 

plural kaiju

in fiction

: a giant and destructive monster

… a chaotic kaiju who destroys cities.

—Anthony Gramuglia

… the iconic, and titular, kaiju rose from the sea and decimated a post-WWII Japan …

—Philip Sledge

He balances protecting civilians and getting the kaiju somewhere safe where neither it nor anyone else can get hurt.

—Sarah Chaudhry

Godzilla belongs to a species of postwar monsters called kaiju …

—Aatish Taseer and Tess Ayano

—often used before another noun

I grew up watching these sillier kaiju movies …

—Joey Shapiro

… the film delivers the best kaiju fight in the entirety of the series …

—Kyle Logan

… leading to the post-apocalyptic present day when kaiju attacks are a near-constant threat to humanity.

—Corey Plante

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Japanese kaijū "monster," from kai "strange, weird" + jū "animal, beast"

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above