mammoth
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
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
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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.
Vocabulary lists containing mammoth
Tyrannosaurus Lex(icon)
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Living Large: Synonyms for "Big"
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President Trump's First Address to the United Nations General Assembly (2017)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“When I think about the people who just had this incredible openness to talent, I see their mammoth contribution to making America true to itself.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
The European Union's mammoth trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur provisionally enters into force Friday, despite a pending court ruling on its legality.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
A mammoth new rail hub, "Stuttgart 21", was supposed to open in 2019 but has been indefinitely delayed, leaving a vast area in the centre of the southwestern city looking like a building site.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
The couple have documented the "mammoth renovation" project on their Channel 4 show and said the "biggest curve ball" they encountered so far was dealing with bird poo and dry rot.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Meanwhile in Philadelphia–Wistar’s city–naturalists had begun to assemble the bones of a giant elephant-like creature known at first as "the great American incognitum" but later identified, not quite correctly, as a mammoth.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
