mastodon

noun

mas·​to·​don ˈma-stə-ˌdän 

-dən

1

: any of various extinct mammals (genus Mammut synonym Mastodon) of the elephant family existing from the Miocene through the Pleistocene that are distinguished from the related mammoths chiefly by molar teeth with cone-shaped cusps

2

: one that is unusually large

mastodonic

ˌma-stə-ˈdä-nik 

adjective

mastodont

ˈma-stə-ˌdänt 

adjective or noun

Synonyms

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

Examples of mastodon in a Sentence

mom-and-pop stores just can't compete with these mastodons of retailing

Recent Examples on the Web

Mammoths and mastodons came from Asia to North America; the first horses and camels, smaller versions of those living today, left their native North America for Asia, Africa and Europe. —Michael Ray Taylor, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2025

Although both are elephant relatives, mastodons are distinct from woolly mammoths. —Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024

But the dire wolf is an actual real-world predator, which went extinct about 13,000 years ago after roaming North America for thousands of years before that, alongside saber tooth tigers and mastodons. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025

Palaeoloxodon Mammoths and mastodons were not the only elephants wandering across the planet during the last Ice Age. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Mastodont-, Mastodon, genus name, Latinization of French mastodonte, vernacular name for the animal, from Greek mastós "breast, nipple" (probably from a pre-Greek substratal language) + French -odonte -odont; so named from the nipple-like cusps on the crowns of the molar teeth

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mastodon

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• chitosan
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon

Kids Definition

mastodon

noun

mast·​odon

ˈmas-tə-ˌdän,

-dən

: any of various huge extinct mammals related to the mammoths and existing elephants