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mastodon
[ mas-tuh-don ]
noun
- 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.
- a person of immense size, power, influence, etc.
mastodon
/ ˈmæstəˌdɒn /
noun
- any extinct elephant-like proboscidean mammal of the genus Mammut (or Mastodon ), common in Pliocene times
mastodon
/ măs′tə-dŏn′ /
- 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.
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Derived Forms
- ˌmastoˈdontic, adjective
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Other Words From
- masto·donic adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of mastodon1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of mastodon1
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Example Sentences
It has already abandoned the mastodon Arctic Shtokman field.
The mastodon skeleton which is now preserved in Field Museum in Chicago was found upon his farm.
Woe to the nation by whom such feelings are classed with the age of the mammoth and the mastodon!
The skeleton of a huge mastodon was found here this winter by some men digging a ditch.
Lying among the ruins was a gigantic mastodon in excellent preservation, which Mr. Roosevelt brought down on his shoulders.
Mr. Badolet likewise purchased the well preserved lower jaw of a mastodon, which was found in the White River.
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