mastodon

[ mas-tuh-don ]

noun

1. a massive, elephantlike mammal of the genus Mammut ( Mastodon ), that flourished worldwide from the Miocene through the Pleistocene epochs and, in North America, into recent times, having long, curved upper tusks and, in the male, short lower tusks.
2. a person of immense size, power, influence, etc.

mastodon

/ ˈmæstəˌdɒn /

noun

1. any extinct elephant-like proboscidean mammal of the genus Mammut (or Mastodon ), common in Pliocene times

mastodon

/ măs′tə-dŏn′ /

1. Any of several extinct mammals of the genus Mastodon (or Mammut ). Mastodons resembled elephants and mammoths except that their molar teeth had conelike cusps rather than parallel ridges for grinding. Like elephants, mastodons had a pair of long, curved tusks growing from their upper jaw, but males also sometimes had a second pair from the lower jaw. Like mammoths, mastodons were covered with hair. They lived from the Oligocene Epoch to the end of the Ice Age.

Derived Forms

• ˌmastoˈdontic, adjective

Other Words From

• masto·donic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mastodon¹

1805–15; < New Latin < Greek mast ( ós ) breast + odṓn tooth

Word History and Origins

Origin of mastodon¹

C19: from New Latin, literally: breast-tooth, referring to the nipple-shaped projections on the teeth

Example Sentences

You see, there’s no way for your posts to reach every Mastodon server unless someone on each one follows you or republishes your post.

From Popular-Science

For the last two years at least, people have been creating accounts on Mastodon, Pillowfort, and a host of others.

From MIT Technology Review

On this partial map of North America, gold dots designate sites regarded by some researchers as displaying clear evidence of human hunting or scavenging of mammoths and other big game, mostly mastodons.

From Science News

They say the site, which covers hundreds of acres, is home to hundreds and possibly thousands of fossils, ­including specimens from long-extinct species like mastodons and giant camels.

From Washington Post

For instance, one previously unearthed mastodon limb bone was shattered into several hundred pieces, consistent with the effects of heavy trucks frequently rumbling overhead, Haynes says.

From Science News

It has already abandoned the mastodon Arctic Shtokman field.

From The Daily Beast

The mastodon skeleton which is now preserved in Field Museum in Chicago was found upon his farm.

From Project Gutenberg

Woe to the nation by whom such feelings are classed with the age of the mammoth and the mastodon!

From Project Gutenberg

The skeleton of a huge mastodon was found here this winter by some men digging a ditch.

From Project Gutenberg

Lying among the ruins was a gigantic mastodon in excellent preservation, which Mr. Roosevelt brought down on his shoulders.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Badolet likewise purchased the well preserved lower jaw of a mastodon, which was found in the White River.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• boar