any extinct elephant-like proboscidean mammal of the genus Mammut (or Mastodon), common in Pliocene times
Derived forms
mastodontic (ˌmastoˈdontic)
adjective
Word origin
C19: from New Latin, literally: breast-tooth, referring to the nipple-shaped projectionson the teeth
mastodon in American English
(ˈmæstəˌdɑn)
noun
any of an extinct family (Mastodontidae) of proboscidean mammals that differed fromthe elephants and mammoths by being larger and having a different structure of the molars
Derived forms
mastodonic (ˌmastoˈdonic)
adjective
Word origin
< Fr mastodonte, coined (1806) by Cuvier < Gr mastos (see masto-) + odont-, stem of odous, tooth: from the nipplelike processes on its molar
Examples of 'mastodon' in a sentence
mastodon
- or, like the mastodon 's huge tusks: a heavy, useless and ultimately self-destructive burden?