woolly mammoth

noun

: a heavy-coated mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) formerly inhabiting the colder parts of the northern hemisphere

Illustration of woolly mammoth

Examples of woolly mammoth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And Europe would have been filled with ice age beasts that included woolly rhinoceros, as well as bison, Irish elk, and woolly mammoths. —Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025

But this makes little sense because dire wolves, like woolly mammoths, have been extinct for thousands of years and lived in an ice age ecosystem that no longer exists. —Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 10 Apr. 2025

Colossal had imbued the rodents with thicker, woolly coats, golden fur and other cold-climate adaptations, all of which are key characteristics of the woolly mammoth that went extinct around 4,000 years ago. —Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025

Colossal has announced plans to re-create a number of extinct animals, most prominently the humongous woolly mammoth. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

woolly mammoth

noun

: an extinct mammal that was a heavy-coated mammoth of cold northern regions and is known from fossils, from the drawings of prehistoric human beings, and from entire dead frozen bodies dug up in Siberia