(n)a huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios that was built around 285 BC and that stood beside the harbor entrance on the island of Rhodes for about 50 years before it was toppled by an earthquake
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English (GCIDE) v.0.53Collaborative International Dictionary (GCIDE)
n.; pl. L. Colossi E. Colossuses [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_;. ] 1. A statue of gigantic size. The name was especially applied to certain famous statues in antiquity, as the Colossus of Nero in Rome, the Colossus of Apollo at Rhodes. [ 1913 Webster ]
He doth bestride the narrow world Like a colossus. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ There is no authority for the statement that the legs of the Colossus at Rhodes extended over the mouth of the harbor. Dr. Wm. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. Any man or beast of gigantic size. [ 1913 Webster ]