elephant

noun

el·​e·​phant ˈe-lə-fənt 

plural elephants also elephant

often attributive

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 rainforests)

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 see also elephant in the room

Illustration of elephant

• 1 African
• 2 Asian

Synonyms of elephant

• whale
• giant
• dinosaur
• monster
• mammoth

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 on the Web

Using hundreds of elephants to haul artillery, Cornwallis invaded Mysore and carved up the sultanate. —Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Witnesses told Onmanorama the elephant recklessly wandered around the temple grounds, ramming into the sides of houses and flipping scooters, as officials attempted to control the situation. —Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026

The sprawling complex is home to 150,000 animals of 2,000 species, including elephants, tigers, lions and bears – but no hippos. —Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 1 May 2026

There are no elephants here—but don’t be surprised to find zebras or gazelles walking across the estate. —Samantha Falewée, Travel + Leisure, 30 Apr. 2026

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

Phrases Containing elephant

• African elephant
• Asian elephant
• Asiatic elephant
• elephant bird
• elephant ear
• elephant garlic
• elephant grass
• elephant in the room
• elephant seal
• elephant's ear
• Indian elephant
• rogue elephant
• white elephant

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:

a

: one with large ears that occurs in tropical Africa

b

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