mammoth

American  

[mam-uhth] / ˈmæm əθ /

noun

mammoths plural

1. any large, elephantlike mammal of the extinct genus Mammuthus, from the Pleistocene Epoch, having hairy skin and ridged molar teeth.

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adjective

1. immensely large; huge; enormous.

   a mammoth organization.

mammoth British  

/ ˈmæməθ /

noun

1. any large extinct elephant of the Pleistocene genus Mammuthus (or Elephas ), such as M. primigenius ( woolly mammoth ), having a hairy coat and long curved tusks

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adjective

1. of gigantic size or importance

mammoth Scientific  

/ măm′əth /

1. Any of various extinct elephants of the genus Mammuthus, having long, upwardly curving tusks and thick hair. Mammoths grew to great size and lived throughout the Northern Hemisphere during the Ice Age.

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Synonym Usage

See gigantic.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mammoths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mammoth

1690–1700; < Russian mam(m)ot (now mámont ), first used in reference to remains of the animal found in Siberia; origin uncertain

Compare meaning

How does mammoth compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• mastodon vs. mammoth

Explanation

The adjective mammoth is a great way to describe something really, really big, like those huge woolly elephants they’re still finding in the melting glaciers. The word mammoth is a pretty new one, dating back only to around 1700. It was first only a noun from the Russian word mammot, meaning “earth,” and used to name the newly-discovered fossilized creature that was thought to have burrowed in the earth like a mole. The word, a rare Russian contribution to English, was not used as an adjective until around 1800 — notably when President Thomas Jefferson used it to describe a very large cheese.

Example Sentences

Opposition to the mammoth tech hubs and their massive thirst of water, power and land has only escalated throughout the state and nation ever since.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026

The septet's mammoth global tour was making a stop in her backyard – the Indonesian capital, Jakarta – and as a longtime fan, she couldn't fathom missing it.

From BBC • Jun. 21, 2026

After three straight years of mammoth gains, 2026 has been a rocky one for Palantir amid broad fears that artificial intelligence will disrupt some software offerings.

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

San Antonio had built its mammoth lead with Wembanyama pummeling the Knicks inside and freeing up his teammates for wide-open looks from the perimeter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Whatever, after a hundred ravens had boiled noisily off, one mammoth black beast remained, flapping around hysterically in the smoke.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

• colossal
• enormous
• gargantuan
• gigantic
• immense
• large
• massive
• monstrous
• monumental
• prodigious
• vast