behemoth

be·he·moth

B b

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [bih-hee-muh th, bee-uh-]
- /bɪˈhi məθ, ˈbi ə-/
- /bɪˈhiː.mɒθ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [bih-hee-muh th, bee-uh-]
- /bɪˈhi məθ, ˈbi ə-/

Definitions of behemoth word

countable noun behemoth If you refer to something as a behemoth, you mean that it is extremely large, and often that it is unpleasant, inefficient, or difficult to manage. 3
noun behemoth a gigantic beast, probably a hippopotamus, described in Job 40:15 3
noun behemoth a huge or monstrous person or thing 3
noun behemoth a huge animal, assumed to be the hippopotamus: Job 40:15-24 3
noun behemoth any animal or thing that is huge or very powerful 3
noun behemoth an animal, perhaps the hippopotamus, mentioned in Job 40:15–24. 1

See all 12 definitions of behemoth

Information block about the term

Origin of behemoth

First appearance:

before 1350

One of the 20% oldest English words

1350-1400; < Hebrew bəhēmōth, an augmentative plural of bəhēmāh beast; replacing Middle English bemoth

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Behemoth

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Behemoth

behemoth popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 74% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

behemoth usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for behemoth

noun behemoth

beast — You can refer to an animal as a beast, especially if it is a large, dangerous, or unusual one.
monster — a legendary animal combining features of animal and human form or having the forms of various animals in combination, as a centaur, griffin, or sphinx.
mammoth — any large, elephantlike mammal of the extinct genus Mammuthus, from the Pleistocene Epoch, having hairy skin and ridged molar teeth.
huge — extraordinarily large in bulk, quantity, or extent: a huge ship; a huge portion of ice cream.
leviathan — (often initial capital letter) Bible. a sea monster.

All 5 Synonyms of behemoth