800-pound gorilla
noun
ˈāt-ˈhən-drəd-ˈpau̇nd- 
-dərd-
: one that is dominating or uncontrollable because of great size or power
like it or not, the 800-pound gorilla usually sets the standard—
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Daya NadamuniExamples of 800-pound gorilla in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
According to the Wall Street Journal, the industry’s 800-pound gorilla, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is also getting pasted as the venture capital fund’s flagship crypto fund shed 40% of its value in the first half of the year.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2022
Meta, which essentially pioneered social media when Mr. Zuckerberg launched Facebook out of his Harvard dorm in 2004, has long been the industry’s 800-pound gorilla.
—Salvador Rodriguez, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022
Boeing was unstoppable, far and away the 800-pound gorilla of commercial aviation.
—Dylan Ogline, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022
With all due respect to King Kong, the real 800-pound gorilla of animal attack movies is Steven Spielberg's still-nerve-rending blockbuster.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022
All of this suggests that while Trump may still be the 800-pound gorilla in the GOP, his time as the alpha may be fading.
—Abdul El-Sayed, The New Republic, 3 June 2022
There’s an 800-pound gorilla that’s going unacknowledged here.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2022
David Toback, a physicist at Texas A&M University and a co-spokesperson for the 400-person team, likens it to precisely measuring the weight of an 800-pound gorilla to within one ounce.
—Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 7 Apr. 2022
Much as Napster’s viral growth in 1999 quickly overran the traditional music industry, the sums at stake in this new era of digital money are becoming the 800-pound gorilla in the room for the traditional financial system.
—Michael P. Regan, Bloomberg.com, 24 Sep. 2021
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2022
Meta, which essentially pioneered social media when Mr. Zuckerberg launched Facebook out of his Harvard dorm in 2004, has long been the industry’s 800-pound gorilla.
—Salvador Rodriguez, WSJ, 12 Sep. 2022
Boeing was unstoppable, far and away the 800-pound gorilla of commercial aviation.
—Dylan Ogline, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022
With all due respect to King Kong, the real 800-pound gorilla of animal attack movies is Steven Spielberg's still-nerve-rending blockbuster.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022
All of this suggests that while Trump may still be the 800-pound gorilla in the GOP, his time as the alpha may be fading.
—Abdul El-Sayed, The New Republic, 3 June 2022
There’s an 800-pound gorilla that’s going unacknowledged here.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2022
David Toback, a physicist at Texas A&M University and a co-spokesperson for the 400-person team, likens it to precisely measuring the weight of an 800-pound gorilla to within one ounce.
—Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 7 Apr. 2022
Much as Napster’s viral growth in 1999 quickly overran the traditional music industry, the sums at stake in this new era of digital money are becoming the 800-pound gorilla in the room for the traditional financial system.
—Michael P. Regan, Bloomberg.com, 24 Sep. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word '800-pound gorilla.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“800-pound gorilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/800-pound%20gorilla. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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