elephant

noun

ˈe-lə-fənt How to pronounce elephant (audio)
Definition of elephantnext
as in whale
something or someone that is unusually large and powerful by any standard, the new shopping mall will be an elephant and one that is certain to alter the retail landscape

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of elephant Excavators uncovered stone artifacts and bones of Stegodon florensis insularis, a bison-size extinct relative of elephants, near the Homo floresiensis fossils. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 3 July 2026 Andrea Gutierrez, a University of Texas professor who researched captive elephants in South Asia, said Kerala's temple elephants are male, which poses a problem. — ABC News, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for elephant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elephant
  1. whale
  2. giant
  3. dinosaur
  4. monster
  5. mammoth
Noun
  • Those include swimming dolphins, traveling in space, and taking a bath with a whale.
    — Parents, Parents, 3 July 2026
  • Along with a full roster of shows and entertainment, the ship will sail with a whale specialist during summer months.
    — Jane Wooldridge, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026
Definition of whale
Noun
  • In 2024, the Detroit auto giant alleged the startup’s branding and Bronco lookalikes crossed into false advertising.
    — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 10 July 2026
  • Danish jewelry giant Pandora introduced a creative platform in collaboration with British stylist Harry Lambert, called Pandora Wonders.
    — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 10 July 2026
Definition of giant
Noun
  • Beyond the rides, families can climb the Lookout Towers, meet baby dinosaurs, and explore interactive play areas.
    — Jacqueline Dole, Travel + Leisure, 5 July 2026
  • Schindler compared Pluto's reclassification to the dinosaur Brontosaurus, which was renamed Apatosaurus after further study before later regaining its original classification as scientists refined their understanding.
    — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of dinosaur
Noun
  • Go on, put the 131-cube (2,147 cc) monster engine into that one.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 July 2026
  • There’s no way the doll monsters at the pond were the whole point of the Lake of Tears, right?
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of monster
Noun
  • According to this theory, those now-extinct megafauna—the giant ground sloths and the giant beavers, the mastodons and mammoths, and even the lions and dire wolves—were relatively quickly hunted to extinction.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 June 2026
  • For the next 49,000 years, the sticky pits captured virtually everything that fell or walked onto them, from grains of pollen borne by the wind to hapless ancient camels and Columbian mammoths.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2026
Definition of mammoth

Browse Nearby Words

elements
elephant
elephantine
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Cite this Entry

“Elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elephant. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on elephant

Nglish: Translation of elephant for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about elephant

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