Definition of MASTODON

mastodon

Plural: mastodons

Noun

  • extinct elephant-like mammal that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differ from mammoths in the form of the molar teeth
  • Extinct elephant-like mammal of the genus †Mammut that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times; differs from elephants and mammoths in the form of the molar teeth.
  • Anything awkwardly large or unwieldy.

Origin / Etymology

First attested 1813, from translingual Mastodon (1806), coined by French naturalist Georges Cuvier, from masto- (“breast”) + -odon (“tooth”), due to the mammilloid (“nipple-shaped”) projections on the crowns of the extinct mammal's molars.

Synonyms

incognitum, mastodont

Scrabble Score: 11

mastodon is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
mastodon is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mastodon is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

mastodon is a valid Words With Friends word