ground sloth

noun

: any of various often huge extinct American edentates related to the recent sloths

Examples of ground sloth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web However, roughly 10,000 years ago, giant ground sloths disappeared from the geological record. Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 Facts About One of the Biggest Sharks in History Other ground sloths employed strange defensive measures. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 25 Jan. 2024 At this site, abundant stone tools are intermixed with the fossils of the extinct ground sloth Glossotherium phoenesis, which grew to be 10 to 13 feet long and weighed 1.1 to 1.6 tons. Ryan McRae, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023 The lake and its lush surrounding vegetation attracted not only humans but also many now-extinct species such as plant-eating ancient camels, mammoths and ground sloths. Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Oct. 2023 Once among the largest creatures in South America, giant ground sloths were 10 to 13 feet in length and usually walked on all four legs, using their sharp claws to dig burrows. Christina Larson, Anchorage Daily News, 12 July 2023 Mammoths, mastodons, huge bison, horses, camels, very large ground sloths and giant short-faced bears all died out as the huge continental ice sheets disappeared at the end of the ice age. Christopher R. Moore, Fortune, 17 June 2023 Giant ground sloths were the size of baby elephants. Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2023 The sloth in the study, known as Darwin's ground sloth, or Mylodon darwinii, likely reached 10 feet (3 meters) in length and weighed between 2,220 and 4,400 pounds (1,007 and 1,996 kilograms). Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Nov. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ground sloth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ground sloth was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near ground sloth

Cite this Entry

“Ground sloth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ground%20sloth. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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