sleeping giant

noun

: one that has great but unrealized or newly emerging power

Examples of sleeping giant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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But can these colorful designs help awaken a country considered a sleeping giant of European basketball? Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 19 June 2025 Their dubious ‘reward’ for topping the league phase table was a matchup with another of the best teams on the continent, Paris Saint-Germain, who had underperformed in the league phase but were an obvious sleeping giant. James Nalton, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025 Meta Platforms is taking a major step toward awakening the sleeping giant of WhatsApp, sending shares of the Club name higher on Monday. Zev Fima, CNBC, 16 June 2025 To me, the Orlando Magic remain the potential sleeping giant. Eric Koreen, New York Times, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for sleeping giant

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sleeping giant was in 1970

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Cite this Entry

“Sleeping giant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleeping%20giant. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.

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