elephant

noun

el·e·phant ˈe-lə-fənt

plural elephants also elephant

often attributive

Synonyms of elephant next

: a thickset, usually extremely large, nearly hairless, herbivorous mammal (family Elephantidae, the elephant family) that has a snout elongated into a muscular trunk and two incisors in the upper jaw developed especially in the male into long ivory tusks:

(1)

: a tall, large-eared mammal (Loxodonta africana) of tropical Africa that is sometimes considered to comprise two separate species (L. africana of sub-Saharan savannas and L. cyclotis of central and western rainforests)

called also African elephant

(2)

: a relatively small-eared mammal (Elephas maximus) of forests of southeastern Asia

called also Asian elephant, Indian elephant

: any of various extinct relatives of the elephant see mammoth, mastodon

: one that is uncommonly large or hard to manage see also elephant in the room

Example Sentences

by any standard, the new shopping mall will be an elephant and one that is certain to alter the retail landscape

Recent Examples on the Web Drought killed 512 wildebeests, 430 zebras, 205 elephants, 51 buffaloes, and 12 giraffes in Kenya. —

Marion Renault, The New Republic, 3 May 2023 Located in southwest Kenya, Maasai Mara National Reserve is also home to lions, elephants, African buffalos, Thomson’s gazelles, and cheetahs. —

Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 27 Apr. 2023 Now the island has… The secret superpowers of elephants, in stop motion Animals 2 hours of sleep? —

Environment, 20 Apr. 2023 But unlike us, most elephants simply gobble them up whole—peel and all. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2023 The soap dispenser is offered in five different animal silhouettes—duck, penguin, elephant, hippo, and whale— so your little one will be able to choose their favorite one. —

Courtney Kittel, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2023 The heart-expanding safari experience will allow travelers to feel the rush of twice-daily game drives and rangers' love for animals while introducing them to the Big Five - elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, and buffalo - in their natural habitat. —

Sandra Macgregor, Forbes, 1 Apr. 2023 But the findings show that maintaining the populations of reef sharks, gray wolves, wildebeest, sea otters, musk oxen, and ocean fish, along with growing the populations of African forest elephants, American bison, and baleen whales, could capture 6.41 gigatons of carbon per year. —

Devika Rao, The Week, 28 Mar. 2023 Giant ground sloths were the size of baby elephants. —

Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elephant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French olifant, elefant, from L. elephantus, from Greek elephant-, elephas

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of elephant was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant. Accessed 5 May. 2023.

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Kids Definition

elephant

noun

el·e·phant ˈel-ə-fənt

: any of a family of huge thickset nearly hairless mammals that have the snout lengthened into a trunk and two incisors in the upper jaw developed into long outward-curving pointed ivory tusks and that include two living forms:

: one with large ears that occurs in tropical Africa

: one with relatively small ears that occurs in forests of southeastern Asia