giant

giant — noun

1. In old stories, a creature that looks like a human but is extremely tall and str

1.nounA2
Definition

In old stories, a creature that looks like a human but is extremely tall and strong, and is often cruel or frightening.

Example

In the story, the giant lived at the top of a beanstalk.

fairy-tale setting: giant + beanstalk

A giant stepped out of the cave, and the children ran away quickly.

Common collocations
  • fairy-tale giant
  • storybook giant
  • giant's castle
  • giant in a story
Synonyms
  • ogre

    a giant-like monster that is especially ugly and cruel, common in fairy tales

  • monster

    a broader term for any large, frightening imaginary creature

Antonyms
  • dwarf

    a very small human-like creature in fairy tales

Grammar Patterns

giant + verb

a + giant

Usage Note

In modern English this sense is mainly used in fairy tales, children's books, and films. Outside those contexts, people use 'giant' figuratively — see senses 2 and 3 below.

Common Mistakes

The giant was only five feet tall.
The giant was over fifteen feet tall.
In stories, a giant is far bigger than a normal human, not just a little taller.

2. A real person who is much taller and bigger than most other people.

2.nounB1
Definition

A real person who is much taller and bigger than most other people.

Example

Christopher is a gentle giant who plays basketball for the national team.

collocation: gentle giant

The crowd parted to let the giant through the narrow doorway.

Common collocations
  • gentle giant
  • towering giant
  • giant of a man
Synonyms
  • colossus

    much more formal and dramatic; suggests great power or importance as well as size

  • titan

    refers to great size or strength, often used figuratively for a person who excels in a field

Antonyms
  • dwarf

    a person of unusually short stature; now often considered offensive in direct reference to people

Grammar Patterns

a + giant

giant + of + noun

Usage Note

Calling someone a 'giant' because of their height can be friendly or admiring ('a gentle giant') but may also sound rude if used as a direct label without context. The phrase 'a giant of a man' is a common, neutral alternative.

Common Mistakes

She is a giant' (said about a person of average height).
She is a giant' (only if the person is genuinely much taller than most people).
Use 'giant' only for people who are strikingly taller than average.

3. A person, company, or organization that is extremely successful and has great in

3.nounB2
Definition

A person, company, or organization that is extremely successful and has great influence in a particular area.

Example

The technology giant announced a new electric car at the conference.

collocation: technology / tech giant

One of the biggest retail giants in Asia offered Jason a job.

collocation: retail giant

Common collocations
  • tech giant
  • retail giant
  • industry giant
  • media giant
  • corporate giant
  • giant of the industry
Synonyms
  • titan

    similar meaning; often used for people ('a titan of Wall Street') and sounds slightly more dramatic

  • magnate

    used only for wealthy, powerful business people, not for organizations

  • behemoth

    suggests something huge and powerful, sometimes with a slightly negative tone ('a corporate behemoth')

Grammar Patterns

[field] + giant

giant + of + [field]

Usage Note

Often combined with a field name before it ('tech giant', 'pharmaceutical giant', 'media giant') or after it with 'of' ('a giant of the film industry'). Can describe both individual people and large organizations.

Common Mistakes

That bakery on the corner is a giant in town.
That bakery is doing well, but it is not a giant in the industry.
'Giant' implies a truly dominant position, not just local success.

giant — adjective

Word family

  • gigantic
    adjectiveB2
  • giantess
    nounC2
  • gigantism
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words mean 'very large', but they differ in tone and typical use. 'Huge' is the most general and neutral — you can use it for almost anything: a huge house, a huge problem, a huge success. 'Enormous' is slightly more formal and often suggests that something is surprisingly or shockingly large (an enormous spider, an enormous debt). 'Massive' emphasises weight, bulk, or solidity (a massive rock, a massive building), though it is also used figuratively for abstract things like a massive effort or a massive increase. 'Colossal' is the most dramatic of the group, reserved for things that are impressively or overwhelmingly big (a colossal statue, a colossal failure). In everyday speech, 'huge' is by far the most common; in news and business writing, 'massive' and 'enormous' are frequent; 'colossal' is less common and more emphatic.

huge ↗enormous ↗massive ↗colossal

Common collocations

Nouns

  • giant panda
  • giant killer

Phrases

  • a giant of industry
  • a gentle giant
  • a giant leap forward

Prepositions

  • giant of
  • giant among

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'giant' comes from Old French 'geant', which came from Latin 'gigas, gigant-', borrowed from Greek 'gigas' (giant). In Greek mythology, the Gigantes were a race of huge, powerful beings born from the earth goddess Gaia. The word entered English in the 13th century through French, first as a noun referring to the mythological beings, and later developed the broader meanings of 'unusually large person' and 'extremely large'.