noun
leviathan
lih-VEYE-uhthn
noun
1
A huge and immensely powerful sea creature, often from Biblical or mythological tradition.
"Sailors once told stories of a leviathan lurking beneath the waves."
2
Something enormous in size, power, or scale, especially an organization or institution.
"The company has grown into a corporate leviathan with offices worldwide."
How to Use Leviathan
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomething huge and powerful — originally a mythical sea monster, now often used for a massive organization or state.
Common pairings
a corporate leviathan
a leviathan of an organization
Word Forms
leviathans plural
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Etymology
From Hebrew livyathan, a sea monster mentioned in the Bible; philosopher Thomas Hobbes later used "Leviathan" as the title of his 1651 book about the all-powerful state.