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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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 landmass used to host multiple forms of mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths, enormous armadillos, multiple species of sabercat, huge bison, dire wolves and many more large creatures that formed ancient ecosystems unlike anything on our planet today.
—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 landmass used to host multiple forms of mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths, enormous armadillos, multiple species of sabercat, huge bison, dire wolves and many more large creatures that formed ancient ecosystems unlike anything on our planet today.
—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 giant animals are protected by a vessel speed rule that requires large ships to slow down at certain times to avoid collisions, which is a leading cause of death for the whales.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
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Whale falls, which occur when a whale carcass sinks to the ocean floor, create temporary ecosystems that feed octopuses, sharks, crabs, microorganisms and more.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Colossal isn't bringing back dinosaurs.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
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Tree ferns, survivors from the age of the dinosaurs, towered above.—
Betsy Andrews,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The case could set a precedent for holding social media companies responsible for dangerous design decisions, after years of tech giants fending off lawsuits under Section 230, the law that shields them from liability for user content.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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China’s tech giants are betting heavily on these versatile platforms.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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New Yorkers only just freed from the snow and ice left by January’s monster storm will once again face winter’s wrath.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
21 Feb. 2026
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If a monster is there, and the monster is those who escape justice or being held to account.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The 6-8, 315-pound offensive lineman is a mammoth of a man.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
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Unlike many slow-moving urban mammoths, this could be a model for how to integrate local desires with capitalist imperatives to deliver your friendly neighborhood megaproject.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Bats sleep eighteen to twenty hours a day, while wild elephants sleep just two hours a night.—
Shayla Love,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
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The stocky little elephant, not far from Rome’s Pantheon, is a frequent stop for tourists.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mastodon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mastodon. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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