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Definition of "elephant" []

  • Either of two very large herbivorous mammals, Elephas maximus of south-central Asia or Loxodonta africana of Africa, having thick, almost hairless skin, a long, flexible, prehensile trunk, upper incisors forming long curved tusks of ivory, and, in the African species, large fan-shaped ears. (noun)
  • Any of various extinct or living animals related to either of these two animals. (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.

Use "elephant" in a sentence
  • "While you may think the elephant is yours and yours alone, even the most solitary of projects are easier to digest with the right team and network in place."
  • "In Arabian literature the elephant is always connected with India."
  • "This lower jaw seemed incomprehensible, almost a monstrosity -- until it occurred to me that it exactly corresponds to the elongated upper lip and nose which we call the elephant's trunk -- and that the trunk of "Tetrabelodon" must have rested on his long lower jaw."