el ‧ e ‧ phant /ˈeləfənt, ˈelɪfənt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: oliphant , from Greek elephas 'elephant, ivory' ]
1 .
a very large grey animal with four legs, two ↑ tusk s (=long curved teeth) and a ↑ trunk (=long nose) that it can use to pick things up
2 . the elephant in the (living) room an important subject or problem that everyone knows about but no one mentions:
The race issue is the elephant in the room in this election.
⇨ ↑ white elephant