noun
mastodon
MAS-tuh-don
noun
1
An extinct elephant-like mammal that lived until roughly the end of the last ice age.
"Archaeologists uncovered mastodon bones at the dig site."
2
Something enormous or unwieldy, used figuratively.
"The old printing press sat in the corner like a mastodon."
How to Use Mastodon
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA prehistoric relative of the elephant, or (informally) anything huge and clunky.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
mastodons plural, Mastodons plural
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Etymology
Coined in 1806 by French naturalist Georges Cuvier from Greek masto- ("breast") plus odon ("tooth"), describing the nipple-shaped bumps on the animal's molars.