elephant

noun, often attributive el·e·phant \ ˈe-lə-fənt \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Definition of elephant

plural elephants also elephant

1 a : 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 rain forests) — called also African elephant

(2) : a relatively small-eared mammal (Elephas maximus) of forests of southeastern Asia — called also Asian elephant, Indian elephant

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

2 : one that is uncommonly large or hard to manage

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Examples of elephant in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of elephant from the Web

That’s what Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens staffers wanted to know when their bull elephant Ali was no longer in his enclosure on Sunday.

— kelli bender, PEOPLE.com, "Michael Jackson's Former Neverland Ranch Elephant Escapes New Home at Florida Zoo," 18 June 2018
In 2014, Loose was part of a team to help tag elephant (Mirounga leonina) and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) for a study.

— kasha patel, Smithsonian, "How Data-Gathering Seals Help Scientists Measure the Melting Antarctic," 13 July 2018
Thirsty elephants often strip a baobab of its bark and wood to get their moisture.

— Washington Post, "Africa’s iconic baobab trees dying off at alarming rate," 13 July 2018
Scientists believe the Ingentia prima was an herbivore weighing about 10 tons, which is equivalent to 2 to 3 elephants.

— brett molina, USA TODAY, "Fossil of first giant dinosaur, dubbed Ingentia prima, found in Argentina," 11 July 2018
The Cummins 5-liter turbocharged V-8 engine churns out 555 pound-feet of torque, good enough to tow 12,640 pounds, ideal for lugging around your pet elephant.

— robert duffer, chicagotribune.com, "Nissan Titan XD is a diesel beast of a truck," 5 July 2018
Seven tons of hoagie: That’s equivalent to the weight of two adult elephants.

— kristin balderas, Philly.com, "How the giant free hoagie from Wawa Hoagie Day gets made," 28 June 2018
Five adults and two calves were killed, and 10 elephants were injured.

— National Geographic, "Can Bees Help Save Elephants From Train Strikes?," 20 June 2018
Otherwise, the elephant isn't just going to live in the room.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "The Bachelorette Wants To Have Its Cake & Be Political, Too," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'elephant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of elephant

Origin and Etymology of elephant

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

elephant Synonyms

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

Financial Definition of ELEPHANT

elephant

noun

What It Is

Elephants are large institutions that make big trades.

How It Works

CalPERS (the California Public Employees' Retirement System) is the nation's largest pension fund. More than 1.6 million people there are employees of public institutions such as schools and local governments. To ensure that the fund has enough money to make pension payments when employees retire, it invests that money in stocks, bonds, venture capital, real estate and a variety of other assets. In 2012, CalPERS had about $234 billion invested and another $3 billion in cash.

Accordingly, it can make some very large trades and has a lot of influence in the market. CalPERS can also be a source of capital for growing companies: It invested $34.2 billion in private equity in 2012.

Why It Matters

When elephants make trades, they are often large trades that can spike (or tank) the price of a stock or other security quickly. Elephants aren't just big influencers of the markets; they're big "gets" for brokerage firms, advisory firms, or any other financial institution that retains them as customers. After all, fees are often a percentage of trade size or asset size, and thus it's usually a big deal to "bag an elephant."

Source: Investing Answers