mastodon

mas·to·don

noun \ˈmas-tə-ˌdän, -dən\

Definition of MASTODON

1

: any of various extinct mammals (genus Mammut syn. Mastodon) of the elephant family existing from the Miocene through the Pleistocene that are distinguished from the related mammoths chiefly by molar teeth with cone-shaped cusps

2

: one that is unusually large

— mas·to·don·ic \ˌmas-tə-ˈdä-nik\ adjective

— mas·to·dont \ˈmas-tə-ˌdänt\ adjective or noun

Examples of MASTODON

1. <mom-and-pop stores just can't compete with these mastodons of retailing>

Origin of MASTODON

New Latin mastodont-, mastodon, from Greek mastos + odont-, odōn, odous tooth — more at tooth

First Known Use: 1811

Related to MASTODON

Synonyms

behemoth, blockbuster, colossus, dinosaur, dreadnought, elephant, Goliath, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, giant, monster, titan, whale, whopper

Antonyms

diminutive, dwarf, half-pint, midget, mite, peewee, pygmy (also pigmy), runt, shrimp

Related Words

amazon, giantess; bulk, hulk; heavyweight; juggernaut, steamroller

Near Antonyms

lightweight, weakling, wimp, wisp; nonentity, twerp, whippersnapper

Rhymes with MASTODON

Abadan, Acheron, Ahriman, aileron, alençon, amazon, Amazon, amnion, and so on, antiphon, Aragon, autobahn, balmacaan, Bantustan, baryon, Basilan, bear down on, beat up on, betatron, biathlon, cabochon, call upon, calutron, carillon, carry-on, carry on, celadon, check up on, chorion, colophon, come upon, Culiacán, cyclotron, decagon, decathlon, demijohn, dine out on, early on, echelon, electron, elevon, enteron, epsilon, ethephon, etymon, fall back on, fermion, follow-on, Genghis Khan, get it on, go back on, going on, goings-on, gonfalon, Grand Teton, graviton, hanger-on, harijan, helicon, heptagon, hereupon, hexagon, hold out on, hopping John, Huascarán, hyperon, Isfahan, isochron, Kublai Khan, Kyrgyzstan, lay eyes on, Lebanon, leprechaun, liaison, Lipizzan, load up on, logion, looker-on, macédoine, marathon, Marathon, marzipan, Mazatlán, Miquelon, miss out on, morion, move in on, myrmidon, nonagon, noumenon, nucleon, Oberon, octagon, off and on, omicron, Oregon, organon, ostracon, Pakistan, Palawan, pantheon, paragon, Parmesan, parmigiana, Parthenon, peloton, pentagon, pentathlon, Percheron, Phlegethon, Phocion, pick up on, polygon, positron, Procyon, put-upon, Rajasthan, Ramadan, ride herd on, run low on, run out on, run upon, set eyes on, set foot on, set upon, silicon, sneak up on, Süleyman, tachyon, Taiyuan, talkathon, telamon, telethon, thereupon, tie one on, triathlon, Tucumán, upsilon, virion, walkathon, walk out on, whereupon, woebegone, work upon, Yerevan, Xiangtan, Zahedan

mastodon

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of several extinct elephant species (genus Mastodon) that lived worldwide 23.7 million–10,000 years ago or later in North America, where they were contemporaneous with historic American Indian groups. Well-preserved remains are quite common. Mastodons ate leaves and had small grinding teeth and long, parallel, upward-curving upper tusks; males also had short lower tusks. Shorter than modern elephants, they had long, heavily built bodies and short, pillarlike legs. Their long hair was reddish brown. The skull was similar to that of modern elephants but lower and flatter, and the ears were small. Human hunting may have played a role in the mastodon's extinction. See also mammoth.