behemoth

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noun, often attributive be·he·moth \bi-ˈhē-məth, ˈbē-ə-məth, -ˌmäth, -ˌmȯth\

Simple Definition of behemoth

: something very big and powerful

Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

Full Definition of behemoth

1 often capitalized : a mighty animal described in Job 40:15–24 as an example of the power of God
2 : something of monstrous size, power, or appearance <a behemoth truck>

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Examples of behemoth in a sentence

<the newest SUV is a gas-guzzling behemoth that doesn't even fit in a standard parking space>

Did You Know?

The original behemoth was biblical; it designated a mysterious river-dwelling beast in the Book of Job. Based on that description, scholars have concluded that the biblical behemoth was probably inspired by a hippopotamus, but details about the creature's exact nature were vague. The word first passed from the Hebrew into Late Latin, where, according to English poet and monk John Lydgate, writing in 1430, it "playne expresse[d] a beast rude full of cursednesse." In English, behemoth was eventually applied more generally to anything large and powerful.