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

• 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

The elephant shrew genus Macroscelides was the sole exception, shifting to omnivory after adopting myrmecophagy during the Eocene. —Rupendra Brahambhatt, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025

Johannesburg pulses with gold-rush grit, jazz clubs, and buzzing markets—while the Garden Route winds past ancient yellowwood forests, misty cliffs, and elephant crossings near Knysna. —Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

The elephants are highly social animals and live in multigenerational family groups in the wild. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025

In the clip, large elephant doors open up in a bare sound stage, revealing the silhouette of Holland, who jogs toward the camera, stopping as the light hits him in his Spidey suit — one which resembles that of the original Marvel comic books. —Rance Collins, IndieWire, 2 Aug. 2025

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 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