noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/bəˈhi(ː).məθ/
/ˈbiː.əˌməθ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B AH0 HH IY1 M AH0 TH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:B IY1 HH AH0 M AH0 TH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A great and mighty beast which God shows to Job in Job 40:15–24.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biblical, lifestyle, religion
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any great and mighty monster.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Something which has the qualities of great power and might, and monstrous proportions.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: colossus, leviathan, mammoth, titan
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a person of exceptional importance and reputation
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: colossus, giant, heavyweight, titan
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: important person, influential person, personage
5
noun
Meaning 5
someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: giant, goliath, monster, colossus
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: anomaly, unusual person
History
Etymology
From Middle English behemoth, bemoth, from Late Latin behemoth, from Hebrew בְּהֵמוֹת (behemót). Most likely, the Hebrew word is an intensive plural of בְּהֵמָה (behemá, “beast”), from Proto-Semitic (compare Ge'ez ብህመ (bəhmä, “to be dumb, to be speechless”), Arabic ب ه م (b h m)). Some have instead suggested a borrowing from a hypothetical Egyptian pA-i-H-E1-mw (*pꜣ-jḥ-mw, “hippopotamus”, literally “the ox of the water”), from pꜣ (“definite article”) + jḥ (“ox, cattle”) + mw (“water”) in a direct genitive construction (for the pronunciation, compare the later Coptic descendants ⲡ- (p-) + ⲉϩⲉ (ehe) + ⲙⲟⲟⲩ (moou)); this, however, suffers from problems such as the lack of attestation of the supposed etymon, and there seems little reason to prefer it to the intensive plural explanation.
Across languages
Translations
56 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
بَهِيمُوث
(bahīmūṯ)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Arabic:
بَهَمُوت
(bahamūt)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Belarusian:
бегемо́т
(bjehjemót)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Bulgarian:
бегемо́т
(begemót)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Chinese Mandarin:
貝西摩斯 /贝西摩斯
(bèixīmósī)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Chinese Mandarin:
巨獸 /巨兽
(jùshòu)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Czech:
behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Esperanto:
behemoto
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Finnish:
behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Finnish:
virtahepo
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
French:
Béhémoth
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
German:
Behemoth
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
German:
Moloch
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Hebrew:
בְּהֵמוֹת
(behemót)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Japanese:
ベヘモット
(behemotto)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Japanese:
ベヒーモス
(behīmosu)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Korean:
베헤모스
(behemoseu)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Macedonian:
бегемот
(begemot)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Norwegian Bokmål:
Behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Polish:
Behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Portuguese:
Beemôt
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Russian:
бегемо́т
(begemót)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Spanish:
behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Swedish:
Behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Turkish:
behemot
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Turkish:
dev mahluk
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Turkish:
dev yaratık
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Ukrainian:
бегемо́т
(behemót)
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Zulu:
uBehemoti
— mighty beast in the Book of Job
Chinese Mandarin:
巨獸 /巨兽
(jùshòu)
— mighty monster
Czech:
obluda
— mighty monster
Esperanto:
behemo
— mighty monster
Esperanto:
behemoto
— mighty monster
French:
béhémoth
— mighty monster
French:
béhémot
— mighty monster
German:
Riesentier
— mighty monster
Polish:
monstrum
— mighty monster
Russian:
чу́дище
(čúdišče)
— mighty monster
Russian:
чудо́вище
(čudóvišče)
— mighty monster
Russian:
монстр
(monstr)
— mighty monster
Turkish:
dev
— mighty monster
Turkish:
dev hayvan
— mighty monster
Finnish:
jättiläinen
— something of great size and power
German:
Gigant
— something of great size and power
German:
Koloss
— something of great size and power
Polish:
moloch
— something of great size and power
Polish:
olbrzym
— something of great size and power
Polish:
kolos
— something of great size and power
Polish:
gigant
— something of great size and power
Portuguese:
mastodonte
— something of great size and power
Russian:
гига́нт
(gigánt)
— something of great size and power
Russian:
велика́н
(velikán)
— something of great size and power
Russian:
исполи́н
(ispolín)
— something of great size and power
Spanish:
socotroco
— something of great size and power
Spanish:
zocotroco
— something of great size and power