Definition of "pachyderm" [pach•y•derm]

• Any of various large, thick-skinned, hoofed mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The paper said the pachyderm is estimated to be 18 years old and is the fifth white elephant captured since 2001."
• "'Dismissing constitutional checks and balances, which cannot resist it or deflect its course, the presidential pachyderm is spurred only by forces that stand outside institutions -- the media and the street.'"
• "To be in politics, a person is better off, bein 'called a pachyderm, rather than a weasel."