mas|to|don

mas|to|don «MAS tuh don», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. any one of a group of very large, extinct mammals, much like mammoths or present-day elephants: »

Prehistoric relatives of the elephant were the mammoths and mastodons that lived in temperate and frigid climates (A. M. Winchester).

2. Figurative. a very large person or thing; giant: »

It is romantic nonsense to think in terms of world-wide strikes to bring the mastodons of industry to their knees (A. H. Raskin).

–adj.

very large; gigantic: »

Stone has brought forth a mastodon volume, “The Passions of the Mind” (Atlantic).

SYNONYM(S): mammoth.

╂[< French mastodonte < New Latin Mastodon the genus name < Greek mastós breast + odoús, odóntos tooth (from the nipplelike projections on its teeth)]