plural elephants also elephant
Definition of elephant
1a
: 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
2
: one that is uncommonly large or hard to manage — see also elephant in the room
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for elephant
The first known use of elephant was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century