- a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of: Our Victorian bric-a-brac and furniture were white elephants.
- a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its usefulness or value to the owner: When he bought the mansion he didn't know it was going to be such a white elephant.
- an abnormally whitish or pale elephant, usually found in Thailand; an albino elephant.
- a rare albino or pale grey variety of the Indian elephant, regarded as sacred in parts of S Asia
- a possession that is unwanted by its owner
- an elaborate venture, construction, etc, that proves useless
- a rare or valuable possession the upkeep of which is very expensive
