pachyderm

noun pachy·derm \ ˈpa-ki-ˌdərm \

Definition of pachyderm

:any of various nonruminant mammals (such as an elephant, a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus) of a former group (Pachydermata) that have hooves or nails resembling hooves and usually thick skin; especially :elephant

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Recent Examples of pachyderm from the Web

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History celebrated a ribbon cutting on Friday for the reinstallation of the beloved Viktor Schreckengost pachyderm sculptures, relocated from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

— steven litt, cleveland.com, "Julie Reilly succeeds Albert Albano as executive director of ICA Art Conservation," 16 Aug. 2017
The difference is that Horton was a pachyderm patsy, snookered into pro bono egg-tending by a ne’er-do-well bird, while Glennon will make a cool $16 million this year.

— pat fitzmaurice, SI.com, "Chicago Bears Fantasy Football 2017 Preview: Grab Jordan Howard," 2 Aug. 2017
Of the 1,052 lives claimed by elephants in the last three years, many had simply been in the way when the pachyderms wandered out of jungles in search of vegetation and raided farmers’ crops.

— Washington Post, "Human-wildlife conflict in India: 1 human killed every day," 1 Aug. 2017
Yet this ignores two large pachyderms in the room: The intense consolidation of industries through mergers and the rise of cartels and giant companies with commanding market power and ability to undersell competitors.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "What’s behind the slowdown in American startups," 12 July 2017
Because this sweet baby pachyderm is toeing the line.

— kelli bender, PEOPLE.com, "Your Thursday Afternoon Aww: Watch a Baby Rhino Fall Asleep to Her Keeper's Guitar Tunes," 6 July 2017
The magical appeal of Circus 1903 is a new breed of pachyderm: hyper-realistic, life-size puppets, by the creators of the Broadway smash War Horse.

— holly millea, Smithsonian, "Step Right Up! See the Reinvention of the Great American Circus!," 29 June 2017
Thanks to the quick, collected thinking of the pachyderm pair, the calf walked away from the incident uninjured.

— kelli bender, PEOPLE.com, "WATCH: Two Zoo Elephants Save Drowning Calf in Seconds," 23 June 2017
Elephant figurines, including a pachyderm piggy bank, perch on tables and shelves.

— joanne kaufman, New York Times, "Beowulf Boritt, Set Designer, Renovates His Home," 26 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pachyderm.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Pachydermos in Greek means literally "having thick skin" (figuratively, it means "dull" or "stupid"). It's from pachys, meaning "thick," and derma, meaning "skin." In the late 1700s the French naturalist Georges Cuvier adapted the Greek term as pachyderme and used it for any one of a whole assemblage of hoofed animals having thickish skin: elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, tapirs, horses, pigs, and more. English speakers learned the word from French in the early 1800s. The adjective pachydermatous means "of or relating to the pachyderms" or "thickened" (referring to skin). Not too surprisingly, it also means "callous" or "insensitive" (somewhat unfairly to elephants, which are actually known to be rather sensitive).