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
Kirby: Asian elephant, Houston Zoo On Nov. 15, Shanti, a 34-year-old Asian elephant at the Houston Zoo, gave birth to a 314-pound female calf named Kirby after a 19-hour labor.
—
Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 31 Dec. 2024
At that point the elephants, peaceful, placid and wise, will rise to power, and from them will rise an even greater Broadway musical.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Luxury safari-goers were once all about spotting lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and rhinos — albeit while staying in nicer tents and dining on gourmet food.
—Harriet Akinyi, CNBC, 19 Dec. 2024
Laurent De Brunhoff kept his father's creation, Babar, alive, continuing the tales of a gentle elephant exploring Paris.
—Lee Cowan, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for elephant 
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Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 31 Dec. 2024
At that point the elephants, peaceful, placid and wise, will rise to power, and from them will rise an even greater Broadway musical.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Luxury safari-goers were once all about spotting lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and rhinos — albeit while staying in nicer tents and dining on gourmet food.
—Harriet Akinyi, CNBC, 19 Dec. 2024
Laurent De Brunhoff kept his father's creation, Babar, alive, continuing the tales of a gentle elephant exploring Paris.
—Lee Cowan, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for elephant
Dictionary Entries Near elephant
Cite this Entry
“Elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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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