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goliath

goliath

2 7.4
A very large and powerful person or company that beats others easily
  • noun
  • /ɡəˈlaɪəθ/
translation icon : gigante
  • It is a David and Goliath type situation as as we were talking about earlier.
  • goliath tarantula
  • goliath catfish
  • goliath bird

And so it really was a grassroots David and Goliath story.

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Examples

  • From humble beginnings in Leytonstone, to playing for Goliaths such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Paris Saint Germain.

  • And so it really was a grassroots David and Goliath story.

  • OK, Yeah, that's a David and Goliath scenario, right?

  • See they looked at at Goliath and compared Goliath's size to theirs.

  • The entertainment, the LA Times and the entertainment, you know, the Goliaths are all at the peak of their powers.

  • Our sources claim that Antony's fleet consisted of gigantic ships, while Octavians were far smaller, a David versus Goliath situation.

  • Here is where you'll find the majority of anti-free-market regulations designed to stifle competition and create many of these goliath monopolies.

    Blog text (33)
  • The Mountain View, Calif.-based company closed the market cap gap in just 10 months; however, it forced the once-goliath Microsoft to now walk in the footsteps of Google.

    Blog text (28)
  • But Ryan and Romney are right that the Medicare goliath must be slain if we are to avoid a future in which there's no money to pay for education—or anything else—for decades to come.

    Blog text (26)
  • In the tech industry, small startups often struggle against goliaths like Apple and Microsoft.

Synonyms

monster
vsgoliath
  • Offensive
395 2.5

A very large person or animal with a strange, frightening body

keeps the large power idea but without abnormal appearance
giant
vsgoliath
73 1.0

A very large and strong person or thing

is more about overwhelming figurative power than physical bulk
powerhouse
vsgoliath
57 4.5

A person, team, or organization that is very successful and able to influence others

leans more toward being an overwhelming, giant presence
behemoth
vsgoliath
31 7.8

A very large and powerful thing, person, or group

focuses on a single overwhelming presence often used figuratively
heavyweight
vsgoliath
29 3.5

A person who has great power or influence in a field

leans more toward sheer overwhelming mass and dominance
bigwig
vsgoliath
  • Informal
22 6.9

An important person with power in a company or group

is more extreme, implying overwhelming power or giant scale
overlord
vsgoliath
21 8.4

A person who has great power and controls a country or people

is less about control and more about massive overpowering influence
titan
vsgoliath
19 7.1

A very powerful and important person in a field

is broader, stressing overwhelming size or force beyond a field
juggernaut
vsgoliath
17 9.1

A very large powerful force that cannot be stopped, for example a company or government

is similar but emphasizes size rather than unstoppable motion
leviathan
vsgoliath
  • Literature
17 9.3

A very large and powerful thing, for example a company or ship

is more about one overpowering figure in a situation
demigod
vsgoliath
  • Literature
10 8.1

A person who is partly god and partly human with great powers

is secular and figurative, focusing on overwhelming size or influence
big gun
vsgoliath
  • Informal
9 5.1

An important person with power in a company or field

is weightier, implying an overpowering, large presence
colossus
vsgoliath
4 7.5

A very large, strong, or important person like a leader

stresses sheer overpowering force rather than admired stature
800-pound gorilla
vsgoliath
  • Informal
4 8.1

A very powerful person or company that others cannot easily challenge

is similar but stresses sheer mass and overwhelming size
big kahuna
vsgoliath
  • Slang
4 9.5

A very important person in a group or organization, often the most powerful

is broader and more forceful, not only top influence in a group
big daddy
vsgoliath
  • Slang
1 8.1

An important person who makes key decisions for a group

is weightier and more about being an overwhelming presence
megalodon
vsgoliath
  • Informal
1 8.2

A very large and powerful company or group that dominates its field

is more literary and general for overpowering size or force
Gargantua
vsgoliath
  • Literature
1 9.9

A giant character with a huge appetite in a famous French comic novel

is used more widely as a figurative overwhelming person or thing
hulk of a man
vsgoliath
1 5.2

A very large man who is strong

is usually figurative and broader, not limited to physical bulk
overgod
vsgoliath
9.9

A person or group much more powerful than others in an area

shares dominance but highlights enormous, literal-seeming scale
Godzilla
vsgoliath
  • Informal
6.1

A very large or powerful thing that causes great damage like the movie monster

is more neutral and can mean large without destruction
Nephilim
vsgoliath
9.9

A very large, powerful person or object used as a comparison

is a general label for overwhelming size rather than mythic reference
grand poobah
vsgoliath
  • Slang
9.9

A joking name for a person who has great power in a group

is serious and literal about overwhelming size or power rather than mockery

Antonyms

dwarf
  • Slur
35 7.0

A person who is much shorter than average because of a medical condition

weakling
  • Offensive
24 4.4

A person who has little body strength and gets tired easily

Idioms

battling Goliath
  • Informal
8.2

Facing a much stronger opponent that seems impossible to beat

to face Goliath
  • Informal
8.1

To take on a much more powerful person or group

Compounds

goliath frog
  • South African
8.1

A very large frog from central Africa that can grow up to a foot long and weigh about ten pounds

A very large technology company that controls much of the market

Rana goliath
  • Specialized
9.9

A very large West African frog that can reach about one foot long and weigh ten pounds

How Big

goliath
2 7.4
giant
73 1.0
big fish
  • Informal
14 3.6
small fry
  • Offensive
1 6.9

Surface Forms

goliath singular
goliaths plural

Etymology

The word goliath comes from the Bible, where Goliath was a 'giant' warrior who fought David. So today calling someone a goliath means they are very large or very powerful.