Etymology Chosen by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as a word beginning with 'A' which had existing connotations (see meanings listed in etymologies 1 & 2) of being exotic, different, and (as the Amazon River) the largest of its kind in the world.
1
To overwhelm or obliterate, in the context of an Internet start-up vastly outperforming its brick and mortar competition.
Those who hesitate risk being "amazoned," forfeiting business to an Internet newcomer, in the way that bookstore chains have lost ground to Amazon.com Inc., the online bookseller.1998 November 4, George Anders, “Discomfort Zone: Some Big Companies Long to Embrace Web But Settle for Flirtation — They Fear Online Marketing Could Cause Sales Staffs And Distributors to Rebel — A Risk of Getting ‘Amazoned’”, in The Wall Street Journal, page A1:
Venture capitalists' desks are thick with business plans promising ‘we're going to Amazon the insurance/travel/property business...’1999 Aug, Andrew Wileman, “Smart cookies: Get set to Amazon”, in Management Today, page 79:
4 more examples
Take the example of MetalSite.com, which is owned by steel companies. The steel companies aren't getting "Amazoned" by a start-up but, rather, they are doing the "Amazoning" within their own industry.1999, Tim Smith, InternetWeek (786), "Getting Customers Totally Integrated – Cisco CIO Pete Solvik", 1999-10-25, p. 98 http://search.proquest.com/docview/226888867
Amazon.com may soon be "amazoning" a few more industries.1999, "Amazon Expands", InternetWeek (789), 1999-11-15, p. 11 http://search.proquest.com/docview/226901337
Gone are the days when they agonized about being "Amazoned", or blind-sided by a dot-com ....2000 November 20, Bob Tedeschi, “E-Commerce Report: Web and catalog businesses are crossing into storefront territory, creating parallel avenues of retailing”, in The New York Times, page C12:
In other industries, established companies are pulling people and money away from their Internet operations, as their fear of being "Amazoned" by start-ups has subsided.2001 July 4, Saul Hansell, “Web Sales of Airline Tickets Are Making Hefty Advances”, in The New York Times, page A1:
2
To order (something) on Amazon.
[…] “There are people who Uber everywhere, who Seamless everything, who Amazon everything, and render their lives completely smooth.”2025 June 30, Adrienne Matei, quoting Josh Lora, “‘Hey man, I’m so sorry for your loss’: should you use AI to text?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2025:
amazon
noun
US /ˈæm.əˌzɑn/ · CA /ˈæm.əˌzɒn/
Etymology From Amazon, from Ancient Greek Ἀμαζών (Amazṓn).
1
A tall, strong, athletic woman.
Although the evidence for real Amazons is thin, women athletes are often dubbed amazons.
2
Board games, Chess, Games A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the queen and the knight.
In Triple-guard promotion chess (GPJ) a pawn newly triple-guarded by pieces other than pawns promotes to the combined value of the guarding pieces. Thus after b3 in the opening position a3 promotes to amazon, R+B+N, from triple guard by Ra1, Nb1, Bc1.2010 August 21, G. P. Jelliss, “Simple Chess Variants”, in Mayhematics, page 8:
The amazon is simply a queen-knight hybrid, capable of moving as either piece.2018 October 12, aabicus, “My 7 Favorite Fairy Chess Pieces”, in The Daily SPUF:
3
An amazon parrot.
4
A position for vaginal sex in which the insertive partner lies on their back with their knees pulled back, and the receptive partner, facing the other person, squats onto the penis.
Etymology From Middle English, from Latin, from Ancient Greek Ἀμαζών (Amazṓn); perhaps Ionian Greek pronunciation of Old Persian *hamazan- (“warrior”), as the Amazon women were known warriors. A popular folk etymology, of Ancient Greek provenance, claims that the word derives from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μαζός (mazós, “breast”), referencing the belief that Amazons cut off their right breast so that it would not hinder their ability to fire a bow or throw a spear.
1
Human sciences, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, SciencesGreek A member of a mythical race of female warriors inhabiting the Black Sea area.
When, therefore, one envisions a matriarchy, one should not conjure up visions of a gang of Amazons lopping off breasts and testicles to rule by force of arms.1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 149:
2
A female warrior.
In some parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, amazon cultures still existed during the Middle Ages, such as that ruled by Queen Nzingha in Angola, who led her amazon army against the Portuguese in a series of wars during the first half of the seventeenth century. In Dahomey also in traditionally gynarchal West Africa, the army was made up of amazons even through the nineteenth century.1976, Xenia S. Williams, “The Power of History...or History Is Written by the Powerful”, in Dave Peterson, Jonathan Cross, Lyn Rosen, editors, A Gay Person's Guide to New England, 2nd edition:
Etymology From Spanish Río Amazonas. It is common belief that the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana fought a battle against a tribe of Tapuya natives, in which the women fought alongside the men, and that he derived the name from the Amazons in Greek mythology.