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

b

: any of various extinct relatives of the elephant see mammoth, mastodon

2

: one that is uncommonly large or hard to manage see also elephant in the room

Illustration of elephant

• 1 African
• 2 Asian

Synonyms

• behemoth
• blockbuster
• colossus
• dinosaur
• dreadnought
• giant
• Goliath
• jumbo
• leviathan
• mammoth
• mastodon
• monster
• titan
• whale
• whopper

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

His wife and artistic counterpart, Elaine de Kooning, kept a studio across the narrow harbor in the North West Woods; and Lucy’s mother, Lisa de Kooning, sculpted bronze-cast animals—elephants, cows, rams—many of which still keep watch over the house. —Alessandra Schade, Vogue, 7 June 2025

No, Johnson wanted to talk about the, um, elephants (?) in the room, eventually making Fallon give her a tissue to stuff down the front of her outfit. —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 5 June 2025

Instead, the 80 giant hedges here take the shape of giraffes, lions, elephants, and teddy bears. —Blair West, Travel + Leisure, 5 June 2025

Later, prehistoric hunters and farmers lived in the Sahara alongside a veritable zoo of iconic African wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, a variety of gazelles, Nile perch, crocodiles, aurochs, Neolithic cattle, turtles, and an enormous collection of large trees and plants. —Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French olifant, elefant, from L. elephantus, from Greek elephant-, elephas

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing elephant

• African elephant
• Asian elephant
• Asiatic elephant
• elephant bird
• elephant garlic
• elephant grass
• elephant in the room
• elephant seal
• elephant's ear
• Indian elephant
• rogue elephant
• white elephant

Kids 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