1. a large extinct mammal related to elephants, with long curved tusks and a hairy coat

Examples

• Scientists discovered mastodon bones in the ancient riverbed.
• The mastodon lived in North America during the Ice Age.
• Museum visitors marveled at the complete mastodon skeleton.
• Mastodons were smaller than mammoths but still enormous creatures.
• The mastodon used its tusks to strip bark from trees.
• Paleontologists study mastodon fossils to learn about prehistoric life.