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giant

n. · adj.
US //ˈdʒaɪənt// UK //dʒˈaɪənt// gi·ant
  1. 1 mythical creature (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Religion

    a huge, powerful creature from stories that looks like a human but is much larger.

    a mythical humanoid of immense stature and strength, common in folklore and legend.

    Example

    In the fairy tale, the giant lived in a castle above the clouds.

    Example

    The protagonist of the epic poem must outsmart a slumbering giant to retrieve the stolen treasure from the mountain cave.
  2. 2 large person or thing (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a person or animal that is much taller or larger than others of its kind.

    an individual, organism, or object of extraordinarily large size compared to its peers.

    Example

    At seven feet tall, he was a giant compared to his teammates.

    Example

    The botanical garden features a giant among lilies, with pads strong enough to support the weight of a small child.
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  1. 3 powerful organization (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a very large and successful company or person that has a lot of power.

    a person or corporation of extraordinary influence, power, or intellectual ability within a specific field.

    Example

    The tech giant announced it would hire thousands of new workers this year.

    Example

    The merger between the two retail giants created a near-monopoly that concerned federal regulators and consumer advocacy groups.
  2. 4 large star (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Science

    a very large star that is much brighter than the sun.

    a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence star of the same surface temperature.

    Example

    The red giant star will eventually expand and swallow the nearby planets.

    Example

    As the star exhausts its hydrogen fuel, it transitions into a red giant, expanding significantly while its surface temperature gradually cools.
  3. 5 very large (adj.)
    B1 Intermediate

    extremely large or much bigger than usual.

    of exceptional size or magnitude; typically used as an attributive adjective.

    Example

    We bought a giant pizza to share with all our friends at the party.

    Example

    The construction crew used a giant crane to lift the steel beams to the top of the skyscraper.
  4. 6 gymnastics move (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Sport

    a move in gymnastics where the person swings all the way around a bar with their body straight.

    a gymnastics maneuver on the high bar or uneven bars involving a full 360-degree rotation with the body fully extended.

    Example

    The gymnast performed a perfect giant before finishing her routine with a flip.

    Example

    The athlete's score was bolstered by the technical precision of his consecutive giants, maintaining a perfectly straight line throughout the rotations.

Origin

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”).

Idioms3 entries

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