: 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 alsoAfrican elephant
(2)
: a relatively small-eared mammal (Elephas maximus) of forests of southeastern Asia
called alsoAsian elephant, Indian elephant
b
: any of various extinct relatives of the elephant see mammoth, mastodon
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 WebSitting on the hotel’s deck overlooking the city's trees, all rusting into gold with the autumn, and spying on elephants at the zoo, the game of guessing at the backstories of your fellow travelers began in earnest.—Chris Wallace, Travel + Leisure, 1 June 2024 Animals Turtle skulls and elephant toenails are among thousands of items seized at LAX mail facility.—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024 In July 1693, for example, Thomas Tew of Rhode Island plundered £100,000 of gold and silver, gems, pearls, elephant tusks, spices, silk, and gunpowder from a ship bound for what is now Saudi Arabia.—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024 The entire family took a photo in front of giraffes, fed them, and also got a glimpse of baby elephants.—Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 14 May 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.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French olifant, elefant, from L. elephantus, from Greek elephant-, elephas
: 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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