mammoth

American  

[mam-uhth] / ˈmæm əθ /

noun

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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Related Words

See gigantic.

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

Lawyers for TV station giant Nexstar, which owns KTLA, argued that last month’s mammoth merger with Tegna would not lessen competition.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

There are now more than 80 university retirement communities on, or near, campuses at schools ranging from mammoth Arizona State to small Goucher College in Baltimore — often with years-long waiting lists.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Fish species that undertake mammoth migrations through rivers, lakes and ponds are facing a combined threat from dams, pollution and overfishing preventing them from reaching their breeding grounds.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

The European Commission announced last week that it would provisionally implement the mammoth deal, pending the EU top court's ruling on its legality.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

That expansion may have been responsible for the extinction of Eurasia’s woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

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