Definitions
01mythical creature
B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Religion
n. a huge, powerful creature from stories that looks like a human but is much larger.
n. a mythical humanoid of immense stature and strength, common in folklore and legend.
日本語:巨人、巨大な※
“In the fairy tale, the giant lived in a castle above the clouds.”
“The protagonist of the epic poem must outsmart a slumbering giant to retrieve the stolen treasure from the mountain cave.”
02large person or thing
B1 · Intermediate Countable noun
n. a person or animal that is much taller or larger than others of its kind.
n. an individual, organism, or object of extraordinarily large size compared to its peers.
日本語:大男※
“At seven feet tall, he was a giant compared to his teammates.”
“The botanical garden features a giant among lilies, with pads strong enough to support the weight of a small child.”
Antonyms
03powerful organization
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun
n. a very large and successful company or person that has a lot of power.
n. a person or corporation of extraordinary influence, power, or intellectual ability within a specific field.
日本語:巨人※
“The tech giant announced it would hire thousands of new workers this year.”
“The merger between the two retail giants created a near-monopoly that concerned federal regulators and consumer advocacy groups.”
04large star
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Science Technical
n. a very large star that is much brighter than the sun.
n. a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence star of the same surface temperature.
“The red giant star will eventually expand and swallow the nearby planets.”
“As the star exhausts its hydrogen fuel, it transitions into a red giant, expanding significantly while its surface temperature gradually cools.”
Antonyms
05very large
B1 · Intermediate
adj. extremely large or much bigger than usual.
adj. of exceptional size or magnitude; typically used as an attributive adjective.
“We bought a giant pizza to share with all our friends at the party.”
“The construction crew used a giant crane to lift the steel beams to the top of the skyscraper.”
06gymnastics move
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Sports Technical
n. a move in gymnastics where the person swings all the way around a bar with their body straight.
n. a gymnastics maneuver on the high bar or uneven bars involving a full 360-degree rotation with the body fully extended.
“The gymnast performed a perfect giant before finishing her routine with a flip.”
“The athlete's score was bolstered by the technical precision of his consecutive giants, maintaining a perfectly straight line throughout the rotations.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “giant” in context.
Verb
01. become a giant
“The small startup grew quickly and eventually became a giant in the energy industry.”
verb + noun
02. slay a giant
“In the old fairy tale, the brave hero had to slay a giant to save the village.”
verb + noun
Adjective
03. gentle giant
“My uncle is two meters tall, but he is a gentle giant who wouldn't hurt a fly.”
adj + noun
04. sleeping giant
“The local football team is a sleeping giant that could soon become successful again.”
adj + noun
Noun
05. giant of literature
“Shakespeare is considered a giant of literature whose plays are still famous today.”
noun + of + noun
06. retail giant
“Small shops are struggling to compete with the prices of the retail giant.”
noun + noun
07. tech giant
“The tech giant announced it will hire thousands of new software engineers this year.”
noun + noun
Etymology
From Middle English geaunt, geant, from Old French geant, gaiant (Modern French géant) from Vulgar Latin *gagās, gagant-, from Latin gigās, gigant-, from Ancient Greek γίγας (gígas, “giant”) Cognate to giga- (“1,000,000,000”). Displaced native Old English ent. Compare Modern English ent (“giant tree-man”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Idioms
The word in film
Giant · 1956 · Western
- Directed by:
- George Stevens
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Dennis Hopper
George Stevens directs this sprawling Texas epic spanning three decades in the lives of a wealthy ranching family and an envious oil-strike rival. The title captures the immense scale of the Texas landscape, the staggering size of newfound petroleum fortunes, and the larger-than-life ambitions of its characters.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B1 · IntermediateOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/giant
※ 機械で選んだ訳語です。ネイティブスピーカーによる確認はまだです。
「日本語」「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0