elephant

noun

ˈe-lə-fənt How to pronounce elephant (audio)
Definition of elephantnext
as in whale
something or someone that is unusually large and powerful by any standard, the new shopping mall will be an elephant and one that is certain to alter the retail landscape

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of elephant Elephants can be extremely destructive and dangerous, and several African countries must confront the problem of elephant herds destroying farmers' crops and infrastructure as well as killing or injuring people. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026 The style’s unique details are what separates it from a standard Air Jordan 3, with a geometric pattern replacing the elephant print typically found on the model’s toe and heel overlays. — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026 The elephants would provide meat for needy rural communities, authorities said Friday in defense of the move. — Sello Motseta, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026 In the study, Pardo and a team of scientists used machine learning to analyze hundreds of rumble recordings from a separate population of African elephants in Amboseli National Park, also in Kenya. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for elephant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elephant
  1. whale
  2. giant
  3. dinosaur
  4. monster
  5. mammoth
Noun
  • While responding to the incident, crews observed three whales in the area off Fire Island National Seashore.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The region has a mild climate, and its beaches and lakes offer a host of opportunities for water activities during the fall, including whale watching, kayaking and paddleboarding.
    — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of whale
Noun
  • This latest group of founders stands on the shoulders of giants from the noughties like Spotify, Klarna, and Skype, who themselves took inspiration from the postwar design empires of IKEA, H&M and Tetra Pak (modernizer of the milk carton).
    — Jan Larsson, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The streaming giant announced the news on social media Thursday.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of giant
Noun
  • Founded in 1812, and opened to the public in 1828, the Academy of Natural Sciences was the first place in the world to display a dinosaur skeleton, back in 1868.
    — Andrew Stelzer, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
  • One of the more notable objects is a full Psittacosaurus skeleton, a small, plant-eating dinosaur with a distinctive beak.
    — Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of dinosaur
Noun
  • The story begins in 1990, when John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration, isolated a peptide from the venom of Gila monsters, the nearly two-foot-long lizards native to the Southwest.
    — Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Here the goal is to traverse a sprawling castle, defeating all kinds of monsters and gathering gear and experience points to get stronger.
    — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of monster
Noun
  • In ancient California, they are believed to have existed alongside other extinct native species, including bison-sized Jefferson’s ground sloths, Columbian mammoths and western camels.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • See fossils of the 14-foot, 20,000-pound mammoths that used to roam around Texas.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of mammoth

Browse Nearby Words

elements
elephant
elephantine
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Cite this Entry

“Elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elephant. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on elephant

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about elephant

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