variants
also elephant
as in whales
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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Recent Examples of elephants
Until authorities grant the camp permission to build a well, water is supplied from a tank which is prone to elephant damage.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2026
Central Africa is home to roughly 95,000 endangered forest elephants, with the largest numbers being found in Gabon, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
They are spread out across six zones, including Red Rocks (tigers, zebra and giraffes), Lakeside Crossing (sea lions, seals and stingrays) and the immersive River’s Edge (elephants, cheetahs and hippos).
—Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 23 Apr. 2026
Knight met a woman who trains dogs in Africa to detect the scent of elephant tusks.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
The joke is on the cowardly villagers, and on Hoja himself, all of whom now have to live in a village terrorized by two war elephants instead of one.
—Perin Gürel, The Conversation, 22 Apr. 2026
The Asian elephants at the National Zoo live in an expansive area called Elephant Trails, which contains outdoor walkways and pools.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
In India, the Queen showed her appreciation for the country by touring the Taj Mahal and riding an elephant.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
The demands on the team have been enormous, according to Robbie Clark, elephant manager and acting curator of the zoo’s Elephant Trails.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2026
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2026
Central Africa is home to roughly 95,000 endangered forest elephants, with the largest numbers being found in Gabon, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
They are spread out across six zones, including Red Rocks (tigers, zebra and giraffes), Lakeside Crossing (sea lions, seals and stingrays) and the immersive River’s Edge (elephants, cheetahs and hippos).
—Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 23 Apr. 2026
Knight met a woman who trains dogs in Africa to detect the scent of elephant tusks.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
The joke is on the cowardly villagers, and on Hoja himself, all of whom now have to live in a village terrorized by two war elephants instead of one.
—Perin Gürel, The Conversation, 22 Apr. 2026
The Asian elephants at the National Zoo live in an expansive area called Elephant Trails, which contains outdoor walkways and pools.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
In India, the Queen showed her appreciation for the country by touring the Taj Mahal and riding an elephant.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
The demands on the team have been enormous, according to Robbie Clark, elephant manager and acting curator of the zoo’s Elephant Trails.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elephants
Noun
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Our days were spent beach combing on semi-secret islands with up-close views of whales, porpoises, and eagles.—
Allison Tibaldi,
USA Today,
18 Apr. 2026
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That will give commercial crabbers using traditional vertical lines — the ones that can entangle migrating whales — a little less than two weeks to wrap up their seasons in San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.—
Linda Zavoral,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Late Cretaceous was the final epoch of the Mesozoic Era, which was dominated by the dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Scientists have studied giant octopus relatives that roamed when dinosaurs were around, and researched some small octopuses that drilled into clams.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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For Cook, Apple's privacy-first approach to user data has long been a differentiator compared to other tech giants like Meta and Google, which specialize in letting brands target users with ads.—
Jennifer Elias,
CNBC,
21 Apr. 2026
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And that’s worked to Apple’s advantage as investors have shopped for an alternative to volatile tech giants scrambling to outspend one another on data centers and circular financing deals.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Fossils have also been found that indicate the islands were also once home to pygmy mammoths, which only reached 4 to 6 feet tall.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Surviving Earth explores the world 450M years ago featuring giant sea scorpions, mammoths and sabertooths.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
So many of my favorite filmmakers over the years have been exposed as monsters.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
19 Apr. 2026
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No further films in the series are planned, though Universal did repurpose the name Dark Universe for an area of its Epic Universe theme park featuring the classic monsters.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elephants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elephants. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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