colossus

noun

co·​los·​sus kə-ˈlä-səs 

plural colossi kə-ˈlä-ˌsī 

1

: a statue of gigantic size and proportions

2

: a person or thing of immense size or power

Did you know?

The original colossi (notice the plural form) were the larger-than-life statues made by the Greeks and Romans. The most famous of these was the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of the sun god Helios built on the Greek island of Rhodes around 280 B.C. that was over 100 feet tall and took more than 12 years to build. The Statue of Liberty is a modern colossus, enormous and stately, at the entrance to New York Harbor. And someone who has played a colossal role in history, such as Winston Churchill, may be called a colossus as well.

Synonyms of colossus

• giant
• whale
• monster
• dinosaur
• mammoth
• titan

Examples of colossus in a Sentence

The building is a colossus of steel and glass.

Leonardo da Vinci remains a colossus in the history of art.

Recent Examples on the Web

Across Europe, where the Paramount chief David Ellison has spent time courting support for his vision of building a Hollywood colossus, the mood is surprisingly upbeat. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026

While the Starship spacecraft is a 171-foot-tall colossus designed to transport people to deep space, Dragon is a 13-foot-wide capsule fit to carry about four astronauts at a time to low-Earth orbit, where the International Space Station resides. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026

The court’s decision greenlighting the settlement was the last obstacle to CEO David Ellison marrying two legacy Hollywood studios to create the next entertainment and media colossus. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

Pontus Jansson, a colossus at that level, had been replaced by this tall but slight and inexperienced kid from Brighton & Hove Albion. — Amitai Winehouse, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek kolossos

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for colossus

• proboscis

Kids Definition

colossus

noun

co·​los·​sus kə-ˈläs-əs 

plural colossi -ˈläs-ˌī 

1

: a huge statue

2

: a person or thing of great size or power

Etymology

from Latin colossus "huge statue, colossus"