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

The shrub-like oak tree has been a fixture of the landscape since mastodons and saber-toothed cats last roamed Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times

Nonetheless, the tree has been a fixture of the landscape since mastodons and saber-toothed cats last roamed Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times

They also have found small pieces of mastodon tusk, but nothing this big and intact.

From Seattle Times

"Elephants don't get much cancer. Their ancestors, long before mastodons, were much smaller, so how, en route to today's size, did they avoid cancer?" he wondered.

From Science Daily

Scientists are beginning to tell such ancient stories by looking at the layers of minerals that once accumulated each day on the outside of the tusks of mammoths and mastodons.

From New York Times

Related Words

• boar