as in whale
something or someone that is unusually large and powerful
mom-and-pop stores just can't compete with these mastodons of retailing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mastodon
The frieze, estimated to be about 12,500 years old, depicts massive ice age beasts thought to have once roamed South America, including mastodons and ground sloths the size of a car.
—
Laura Bassett, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2025
Guests can take a boat tour to learn more about the area’s history — which stretches back thousands of years to early Native Americans and mastodons — or stay overnight in the Wakulla Springs Lodge, which dates back to 1937.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2025
The giant sloths that evolved among ancient grasslands helped to keep those spaces open in tandem with other big herbivores, such as mastodons, as well as the large carnivores that preyed upon them.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2025
Researchers think the wide-open balds were created by grazing animals, first by mastodons and woolly mammoths, and later by deer and elk.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Outside Online, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mastodon
Laura Bassett, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2025
Guests can take a boat tour to learn more about the area’s history — which stretches back thousands of years to early Native Americans and mastodons — or stay overnight in the Wakulla Springs Lodge, which dates back to 1937.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2025
The giant sloths that evolved among ancient grasslands helped to keep those spaces open in tandem with other big herbivores, such as mastodons, as well as the large carnivores that preyed upon them.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2025
Researchers think the wide-open balds were created by grazing animals, first by mastodons and woolly mammoths, and later by deer and elk.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Outside Online, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mastodon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mastodon
Noun
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The findings suggest whales, like humans, cooperate during birth—something that had never been documented in detail before.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
10 May 2026
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The best way to experience this national park is from the water, and there are plenty of cruise tours available to take in the scenery and wildlife (think seals, sea lions, sea otters, puffins, orcas, whales, and eagles).—
Dave Parfitt,
USA Today,
9 May 2026
Noun
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Oversized animals, including dinosaurs, bulls, roosters, hens and seals, also multiplied.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
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As a species, the Maiasaura continued to stand out as exceptional among dinosaurs.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
9 May 2026
Noun
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China’s robotics giant Unitree has unveiled the GD01, a mecha-style machine that can switch between two-legged and four-legged configurations.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
12 May 2026
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The Hispanic media giant revealed the news Tuesday during its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
Noun
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Who’s the best monster in (contemporary) literature?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 May 2026
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This midrange offering includes high-quality audio, advanced noise-cancelling tools, monster battery life, and is comfortable to wear for hours and hours.—
Mark Knapp,
PC Magazine,
8 May 2026
Noun
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In a twist of prehistoric irony, our ancestors’ hunting skills proved too effective, leading to the extinction of mammoths around 10,000 years ago—and mammoth-bone dwellings with them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
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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.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Various engineers seeking superior grip performance have employed biomimicry in their designs, which have been inspired by seed pods, elephant trunks, lobster tails (in fact, using actual lobster tails), and, of course, octopus limbs.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 May 2026
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The film is set in a small Nepalese village nestled in the heart of a forest populated by wild elephants, where Pirati is the matriarch of a Kinnar community.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mastodon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mastodon. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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