mas·to·don

(măs′tə-dŏn′) also mas·to·dont (-dŏnt′)

Any of several very large, extinct proboscidian mammals of the family Mammutidae of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene Epochs, resembling elephants but having molar teeth of a different structure.

[New Latin Mastodōn, genus name : Greek mastos, breast, nipple + Greek odōn, tooth (from the nipple-shaped protrusions on the crowns of its molars); see dent- in Indo-European roots.]

mas′to·don′ic adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mastodonic

(ˌmæstəˈdɒnɪk)

adj

very large and powerful

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

mastodonic

adjective

Of extraordinary size and power:

Informal: walloping.

Slang: whopping.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Even in the hands of the giant green men bridle reins would be hopelessly futile against the mad savagery and mastodonic strength of the thoat, and so they are guided by that strange telepathic power with which the men of Mars have learned to communicate in a crude way with the lower orders of their planet.

View in context

At season's end the New York Times piled on praise for "the mastodonic mauler of the Boston Red Sox," labeling him "the greatest batsman the game has ever known." (16) And when Ruth declared his intention not to play with the Red Sox in 1920 unless they doubled his $10,000 salary, the Yankees must have quivered with a sense of opportunity.

Shoeless Joe, the bambino, the Big Bankroll, and the Jazz Age: personal reviews, op-ed pieces, and polemics from outside the purview of the umpires

Elephant Song: A howling feedback overture gives way to thunderous riff - not so much elephantine as mastodonic - reminiscent of Led Zep's finest hour When The Levee Breaks.

Going ape over Arctics 'enemies' Rock

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