mammoth
[ mam-uh th ]
/ ˈmæm əθ /
noun
any large, elephantlike mammal of the extinct genus Mammuthus, from the Pleistocene Epoch, having hairy skin and ridged molar teeth.
adjective
immensely large; huge; enormous: a mammoth organization.
Origin of mammoth
1690–1700; < Russian
mam(m)ot (now
mámont), first used in reference to remains of the animal found in Siberia; origin uncertain
Words nearby mammoth
mammography,
mammon,
mammonism,
mammoplasty,
mammose,
mammoth,
mammoth cave national park,
mammotomy,
mammotropic,
mammula,
mammy
Example sentences from the Web for mammoth
British Dictionary definitions for mammoth
mammoth
/ (ˈmæməθ) /
noun
any large extinct elephant of the Pleistocene genus Mammuthus (or Elephas), such as M. primigenius (woolly mammoth), having a hairy coat and long curved tusks
adjective
of gigantic size or importance
Word Origin for mammoth
C18: from Russian
mamot, from Tatar
mamont, perhaps from
mamma earth, because of a belief that the animal made burrows
Scientific definitions for mammoth
mammoth
[ măm′əth ]
Any of various extinct elephants of the genus Mammuthus, having long, upwardly curving tusks and thick hair. Mammoths grew to great size and lived throughout the Northern Hemisphere during the Ice Age.