leviathan

noun

le·​vi·​a·​than li-ˈvī-ə-thən 

1

a

often capitalized : a sea monster defeated by Yahweh in various scriptural accounts

b

: a large sea animal

this leviathan of animals is the great Blue Whale

—Weston LaBarre

2

capitalized : the political state

especially : a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy

3

: something large or formidable

that leviathan of international corporations

leviathan adjective

Did you know?

Old Testament references to a huge sea monster, Leviathan (in Hebrew, Liwyāthān), are thought to come from an ancient myth in which the god Baal slays a multiheaded sea monster. Leviathan appears in the Book of Psalms, as a sea serpent that is killed by God and then given as food to creatures in the wilderness, and it is mentioned in the Book of Job as well. Today, its name is used for "something monstrous or of enormous size."

Synonyms

• behemoth
• blockbuster
• colossus
• dinosaur
• dreadnought
• elephant
• giant
• Goliath
• jumbo
• mammoth
• mastodon
• monster
• titan
• whale
• whopper

Examples of leviathan in a Sentence

The factory is a towering leviathan in the middle of the town.

a leviathan of the seas, that cruise ship is said to be the largest passenger vessel afloat

Recent Examples on the Web

In the 1930s, researchers used shotguns to shoot stainless steel tubes—bearing an identification number and promise of reward for return—into whales that could be recovered after the marine leviathans had been killed and processed for their blubber. —IEEE Spectrum, 26 Mar. 2018

The Super Bowl was the leviathan in whose eddying wake the pilot fish feed. —Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025

Uth Duna, an eel-like leviathan, hits like a truck and moves erratically within its watery lair. —PCMAG, 11 Feb. 2025

Angry leviathans, seeking to annihilate with a god-like vengeance. —Todd Heyman, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin, from Hebrew liwyāthān

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

leviathan

noun

le·​vi·​a·​than li-ˈvī-ə-thən 

1

often capitalized : a sea monster often standing for evil in the Old Testament and Christian literature

2

: something very large or powerful of its kind