Illustration of elephant
- 1 African
- 2 Asian
elephant
noun
el·e·phant
ˈe-lə-fənt 
plural elephants also elephant
often attributive
1
a
: a thickset, usually extremely large, nearly hairless, herbivorous mammal (family Elephantidae, the elephant family) that has a snout elongated into a muscular trunk and two incisors in the upper jaw developed especially in the male into long ivory tusks:
(1)
: a tall, large-eared mammal (Loxodonta africana) of tropical Africa that is sometimes considered to comprise two separate species (L. africana of sub-Saharan savannas and L. cyclotis of central and western rainforests)
called also African elephant
(2)
: a relatively small-eared mammal (Elephas maximus) of forests of southeastern Asia
called also Asian elephant, Indian elephant
2
: one that is uncommonly large or hard to manage see also elephant in the room
Synonyms
Examples of elephant in a Sentence
by any standard, the new shopping mall will be an elephant and one that is certain to alter the retail landscape
Recent Examples on the Web
Descriptions include 150-foot-long monsters that caused shipwrecks by wrapping their tentacles around ships, plenty of sea serpents with giant heads and long tails, and one story from 1903 of a group of men who saw a creature with a series of wings, a head like an elephant and horns.
—
Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 24 June 2024
Florida couple wins $1 million lottery prize just before their first child is born Alabama teen scores sneak preview of Tiana's Bayou Adventure after viral prom dress fame Watch rare birth of twin elephant calves in Thailand as baby girl surprises everyone Who are hot rodent men of the summer?
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 18 June 2024
And after hearing the playback, the elephants responded most strongly to the calls originally intended for them.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 June 2024
Wild kingdom Similar to humans, wild African elephants may use individual personal name-like calls to address and identify one another, according to a new study.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for elephant 
Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 24 June 2024
Florida couple wins $1 million lottery prize just before their first child is born Alabama teen scores sneak preview of Tiana's Bayou Adventure after viral prom dress fame Watch rare birth of twin elephant calves in Thailand as baby girl surprises everyone Who are hot rodent men of the summer?
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 18 June 2024
And after hearing the playback, the elephants responded most strongly to the calls originally intended for them.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 June 2024
Wild kingdom Similar to humans, wild African elephants may use individual personal name-like calls to address and identify one another, according to a new study.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for elephant
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elephant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
elephant
noun
el·e·phant
ˈel-ə-fənt
: any of a family of huge thickset nearly hairless mammals that have the snout lengthened into a trunk and two incisors in the upper jaw developed into long outward-curving pointed ivory tusks and that include two living forms:
a
: one with large ears that occurs in tropical Africa
b
: one with relatively small ears that occurs in forests of southeastern Asia
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