mastodon

/ˈmæs.tə.dɒn/

//ˈmæs.tə.dɒn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mastodon" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mastodon” is uncommon English (frequency #50,061 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,061
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mastodon · mastodon · English

mastodon · rank #50,061 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,061
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Marche

Nearest frequency peer: Marche (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “mastodon”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mastodon” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mastodon
PropertyValue
Headwordmastodon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæs.tə.dɒn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#50,061
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mastodon” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).mastodonfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Marche” (#50,060), “Matlock” (#50,062), “Mantua” (#50,059). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mastodon” is #50,061. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mastodon is uncommon English at frequency #50,061 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmæs.tə.dɒn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

mastodon doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is mastodon, spelled M-A-S-T-O-D-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    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.
  2. 2
    Anything awkwardly large or unwieldy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mastodon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When, exactly, Europeans first stumbled upon the bones of an American mastodon is unclear. An isolated molar unearthed in a field in upstate New York was sent off to London in 1705; it was labeled the “tooth of a Giant”.
  2. The battery is dying, and Natalia's iPhone charger doesn't fit my mastodon of a phone anyway.

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.

This word in other languages

mastodonte(Español)mastodonte(Français)Mastodon(Deutsch)mastodonte(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mastodon"?
"mastodon" is spelled M-A-S-T-O-D-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæs.tə.dɒn/.
What does "mastodon" mean?
As a noun, "mastodon" means: 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.
How do you pronounce "mastodon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mastodon" is /ˈmæs.tə.dɒn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mastodon"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mastodon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Moravian#50,079languish#50,034ladyship#50,032neoprene#50,100

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list