elephant

play

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

Updated on: 26 Jul 2017

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

See elephant defined for English-language learners

See elephant defined for kids

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

Midway rides are always a fair favorite, with an array of choices from the thrilling Extreme Scream to this year’s new Circus Jumbo flying-elephant ride for kids.

— madeline mckenzie, The Seattle Times, "New features add to fun at Washington State Fair in Puyallup," 30 Aug. 2017
Elephants were pressed into service, wading through swirling waters to rescue people, and aid workers have built rafts from bamboo and banana leaves.

— jeffrey gettleman, New York Times, "More Than 1,000 Died in South Asia Floods This Summer," 29 Aug. 2017
After a weekend in which the national media descended upon our downtown and broadcast the unfolding story with the nuance of a parade of elephants, Thomas’s sentiment was welcome.

— nell boeschenstein, Longreads, "These Are the Locals Who Get The Story of Charlottesville Right," 17 Aug. 2017
According to Masha Angelova of Mansion Global, the new owners will inherit a barn that was built in 1860, and that was at one point used by Barnum & Bailey to store its circus elephants.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "You Can Own Mark Twain’s Connecticut Farmhouse," 17 Aug. 2017
With its large population of elephant seals, sea lions and Guadalupe fur seals, the volcanic island is a magnet for migratory great whites who make it their home several months a year.

— diane bell, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Great whites will never be teddy bears, but a biologist hopes to soften their image," 9 Aug. 2017
Male elephant seals roar at their rivals with gruff, throaty rhythmic sounds that are specific to each individual.

— virginia morell, Science | AAAS, "Watch elephant seals recognize each other’s ‘accents’," 20 July 2017
John Bush, who practices law in Louisville, kept a blog called Elephants in the Bluegrass for years.

— adam k. raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "Senate Confirms Right-Wing Blogger to Federal Appeals Court," 20 July 2017
As Jacey Fortin reports for the New York Times, Jude, now 10, had accidentally stumbled upon the fossilized skull of a 1.2 million-year-old stegomastodon, an extinct proboscidean that belongs to the same family as elephants, mammoths and mastodons.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Nine-Year-Old Accidentally Discovers a Stegomastodon Fossil in New Mexico," 20 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

elephant Synonyms

Synonyms

behemoth, blockbuster, colossus, dinosaur, dreadnought, giant, Goliath, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, mastodon, monster, titan, whale, whopper

Antonyms

diminutive, dwarf, half-pint, midget, mite, peewee, pygmy (also pigmy), runt, shrimp

Related Words

amazon, giantess; bulk, hulk; heavyweight; juggernaut, steamroller

Near Antonyms

lightweight, weakling, wimp, wisp; nonentity, twerp, whippersnapper

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