leviathan

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noun le·vi·a·than \ li-ˈvī-ə-thən \

Definition of leviathan

1 a often capitalized :a sea monster defeated by Yahweh in various scriptural accounts

b :a large sea animal

this leviathan of animals is the great Blue Whale
—Weston LaBarre

2 capitalized :the political state; especially :a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy

3 :something large or formidable

that leviathan of international corporations

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leviathan

adjective

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Examples of leviathan in a Sentence

The factory is a towering leviathan in the middle of the town.
a leviathan of the seas, that cruise ship is said to be the largest passenger vessel afloat

Recent Examples of leviathan from the Web

Still, taking on the entrenched players may well be harder than becoming an online leviathan in books, apparel and electronics.

— Fortune, "Amazon Will Need to Cut Whole Foods Prices More to Beat Walmart," 30 Aug. 2017
To generations of paleontologists, early mammals from the period were just tiny nocturnal insect-eaters, trapped in the shadows of leviathans.

— carl zimmer, The Seattle Times, "In the Age of Dinosaurs, mammals took to the skies," 11 Aug. 2017
Barely four years after oceanic leviathans first joined the sportfishing fleet, Buoy 10's newest fans showed up earlier than ever this year.

— bill monroe, OregonLive.com, "Whales become a fixture at Buoy 10; Oregon State scientist says they're hungry too," 11 Aug. 2017
To generations of paleontologists, early mammals from the period were just tiny nocturnal insect-eaters, trapped in the shadows of leviathans.

— carl zimmer, The Seattle Times, "In the Age of Dinosaurs, mammals took to the skies," 11 Aug. 2017
To generations of paleontologists, early mammals from the period were just tiny nocturnal insect-eaters, trapped in the shadows of leviathans.

— author: carl zimmer, Alaska Dispatch News, "When dinosaurs ruled the Earth, mammals took to the skies," 9 Aug. 2017
To generations of paleontologists, early mammals from the period were just tiny nocturnal insect-eaters, trapped in the shadows of leviathans.

— carl zimmer, New York Times, "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Mammals Took to the Skies," 9 Aug. 2017
Then again, this Chevy is more of a leviathan than most pickups.

— tom voelk, New York Times, "Video Review: Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, a Leviathan With a Luxury Touch," 15 June 2017
In a review requested by Rep. David McSweeney, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said if Illinois goes a third full year without a budget agreement, the state’s leviathan of past-due bills will hit $22.7 billion.

— Washington Post, "APNewsBreak: Illinois end-of-year budget deficit to top $6B," 7 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leviathan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Old Testament references to a huge sea monster, Leviathan (in Hebrew, Liwyāthān), are thought to spring from an ancient myth in which the god Baal slays a multiheaded sea monster. Leviathan appears in the book of Psalms, as a sea serpent that is killed by God and then given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness, and it is referred to in the book of Job as well. We began equating Leviathan with the political state after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes used the word in (and as the title of) his 1651 political treatise on government. Today, Leviathan often suggests a crushing political bureaucracy. Leviathan can also be immensely useful as a general term meaning "something monstrous or of enormous size."