titanic

Everyday

1. Extremely big, strong or important; huge. tree →
2. the Titanic: a giant British passenger ship that hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic on its first voyage in 1912; more than 1,500 people died. tree →
3. In Greek myths, to do with the Titans, a race of giant gods. tree →

In the lessons

In history lessons the Titanic is a famous disaster that taught people about safety at sea: there were not enough lifeboats, and afterwards the rules changed. As an ordinary adjective «titanic» describes something enormous — «a titanic struggle», «a titanic effort». Phrases: «the sinking of the Titanic», «a titanic battle».

Examples

• The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in 1912. tree →
• People said the Titanic was unsinkable, but they were wrong. tree →
• There were not enough lifeboats on the Titanic for everyone. tree →
• The final was a titanic battle between the two best teams. tree →
• It took a titanic effort to clear the snow from the whole street. tree →
• In the myth, the gods fought a titanic war against the Titans. tree →
• My little brother's tantrum was titanic. tree →

Note

Capital T and «the» for the ship: the Titanic. Small t for the adjective. Myth trap: the ship was never really «unsinkable»; that was a boast. «Titanic» is related to «titanium», a strong metal named after the Titans.