woolly mammoth

noun

: a heavy-coated mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) formerly inhabiting the colder parts of the northern hemisphere

Illustration of woolly mammoth

Examples of woolly mammoth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The mastodon resembles the woolly mammoth but differs in several ways, including featuring molars that are suited for crushing twigs and other vegetation. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026

As the Danube waters shrank in Bulgaria, researchers were thrilled to find and recover a jawbone, tusks, a shoulder blade, ribs and other bone fragments belonging to an extinct woolly mammoth buried deep in the sand. — CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Modern elephants are the only living proboscideans today — a group that once included woolly mammoths and mastodons. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026

Indeed, woolly mammoth de-extinction efforts have already spun off discoveries that may help protect captive Asian elephants from a deadly herpes virus. — Taylor Dotson, Scientific American, 10 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

woolly mammoth

noun

: an extinct mammal that was a heavy-coated mammoth of cold northern regions and is known from fossils, from the drawings of prehistoric human beings, and from entire dead frozen bodies dug up in Siberia